The last time I crossed paths with Ryan Hamilton was November 2019 at his annual Holiday Hoedown in Nottingham. He had short hair, hell, I had short hair! It seems a lifetime ago now, a time when Corona was just a beer and wearing a mask in a bank would’ve got you arrested.
These are trying times for us all, including our favourite Texan troubadour, but things are getting better right? Recording and releasing the ‘1221’ album over a 12-month period in lockdown has kept him sane and kept his fanbase interested, and now a return to the UK for his first live dates since the world changed appears to excite him as much as his fans.
3 dates billed as a co-headline tour with London singer/songwriter Emily Capell will see the singer play The Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds, bookended by sold out shows in Newcastle and London.
It’s my first visit to the Hyde Park Book Club, and it’s a great little venue. From the outside it looks like a supermarket, yet inside, with a small reasonably priced bar, homemade sausage rolls and cakes for sale, it has a homely atmosphere and surely the ultimate den for the student population to come and hang out, drink, and catch up on assignments. Down a precarious set of stairs, we find the basement venue. If dimly lit and void of people, it would seem the perfect ‘kill room’ for Joe Goldberg from the popular Netflix show ‘You’. But tonight, it will be the stage for 3 talented musicians.
With a shock of pink hair, an acoustic guitar and a powerful set of pipes, Brighton songstress Gina Larner warms up the crowd with an enjoyable set of folk-tinged pop ditties. Her tones sit nicely somewhere between Kate Nash and Amy Macdonald, she apologizes for chatting too much, has a cool song about daytime whisky drinking. It’s fun, she has a likeable presence, and the songs stand up to the test. A perfect opener.
We bought tickets, we turned up and we assumed one would headline and one would support. So, it was a surprise to see Ryan Hamilton and Emily Capell take to the stage together and announce a song for song face/off. I knew little of Emily’s music before tonight. I avoided researching as I wanted to view her as a new artist free of any expectations. Of course, being a big fan of Ryan Hamilton, I wasn’t expecting her to be able to compete, and in this case, boy was I wrong…oh so very wrong!
The lady with a beehive and a Gretsch guitar can certainly holds her own against the Texan with a cowboy hat and an acoustic, no problemo. Song for song and piss-take after piss-take, the duo have the room captivated for the entire set. If you have seen Ryan Hamilton bearing his soul with just an acoustic guitar, then you know what an intimate experience it can be. From the uplifting opener ‘Smarter’ to the ever cool ‘Never Should Have Moved To LA’ onto crowd favourite ‘Take It On Th Run’ (or ‘Take It Up The Bum’ as it was sung tonight) the songs are great as ever. But it’s the sadness of ‘Cheaters Never Change’ and the optimism of ‘This Is The Sound’ that really shine through tonight.
It’s by no means a sad show, and this is largely due to the comedy banter between the duo. Ryan and Emily work well together in this format, like they have been touring for months, not days. It’s like a brother/sister act of light-hearted one-upmanship that usually ends in Emily telling Ryan to sit down and shut up! Ryan’s fascination with the English language continues and Emily obliges by teaching him the meaning of words such as “skip”. Its comedy gold and maybe if the singing fails they could both have a career in stand-up!
Thye end the set as a duo tackling each other tunes and a great version of the Johnny Cash classic ‘Jackson’.
For me a great artist has to have the whole package, that certain sparkle. Well written songs, a good voice, charisma and the ability to captivate an audience. Ryan has already proven himself in that department, but to remember the hooks to songs the first time you hear then live is very rare for me, and listening to Emily’s album the morning after the show I remembered at least four of the songs she played. The likes of ‘No Worries’, ‘Ipso Calypso’ and ‘Who Killed Smiley Culture’ are quality tunes full of quirky, retro 60’s pop goodness, but with a contemporary edge. And to deliver them, out of her comfort zone, solo to an unfamiliar audience with such confidence is the sign of a star in the making.
Ryan Hamilton is an artist whose back catalogue straddles power pop and Americana with radio-friendly singles and lyrics that hit the heart and soul. His live performance, whether with a band or solo is always memorable. Emily Capell is a Clash loving, doo-wop delivering ball of quirky goodness with a killer voice and killer tunes. They live worlds apart and come from different cultures, but somehow, together they make magic and gel probably more than they realise. Let’s hope this is the start of a beautiful musical friendship and hopefully more gigs together. Ryan has already teased his return to these shores later this year, if he plays a show near you, do yourself a favour and check him out.
Author: Ben Hughes
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