Tom Hingley(Inspiral Carpets)/ Fearne/Dan Gordon

Mr Kyps, Poole

20th July 2011

Tonight is one of Kyps ever popular in the round gigs featuring none other than Indie legend & Inspiral Carpets frontman Tom Hingley. Tonight’s opener though is local boy Dan Gordon, a confident singer with a great voice & a clutch decent songs. He quickly reminds us this is 2nd gig here before his first song which I believe is called “Make Time For Me/You” which is followed by The Beatles “Hide Your Love Away”. Dan encourages the crowd to enter his competition to be the first to buy him a beer-Alex (Fearne) duly obliges.


Gallery:01–02
Dan tell stories between most of the songs which may be a mask for nerves. However he raises a laugh or two with some interesting stories relating to drunken party games & mysterious facial bruises! He dedicates “Control Part 1” to his Father then sings about ‘Devil Eyes’. His confidence is now growing as he continues in a vain of heartfelt lyrics & confident string-work. He ends ‘Alone’ which is where he started to generous applause.

Gallery:02–03–04
Almost immediately three quarters of Fearne take to the stage. Minus their percussion section they get straight down to business. Fearne are on the crest of a wave having recently won Bournemouth’s answer to the ‘Mercurys’ the DMA’s. Its been 5 years or so since I last reviewed these guys & one word that comes to mind is EVOLVE! These guys have evolved. The sound is more polished & there’s a real confidence about their output. They open with “Throw A Stone” then a “Different Tune”! Gone are the lo-fi Indie leanings of years gone by to be replaced by a fuller sound. Alex (vox) decides to sing an ode to his coat on “Coat Song” before new live favourite Skinny Wrists,which gets a good reception. Alex makes a plea for our long awaited Summer with “Sun is Coming” which is where their set ends. Generous applause once again to a band clearly here for the long haul-long may it continue.

And so to Mr. Hingley. This being his 2nd visit to Kyps in a year this reviewer kinda knows what to expect. Anyone hoping for an Inspiral’s ‘best of’ set was always going be disappointed. Playing a set largely taken from latest LP ‘Thames Valley Delta Blues’ Tom opens with the searing ‘All The Good Things’ then heads for more familiar territory with This is How it Feels. Tom also gets a few laughs with the mid-song banter,particularly having got a mention on Newsnight recently. He also gives us a cover of James ‘Sit Down’ no less. Hearing this classic played on an acoustic guitar is something rather special.

Gallery:02–03–03
He continues with more songs from TVDB in the shape of “Good” and the I.C. classic “Dragging Me Down”. The crowd are then invited to clap along to “Honey, will you buy me a Mercedes Benz”,complimented by Toms mid-song ad-libbing! He picks up his banjo to play “Dogsuit” then reminds us he’s the ‘hardest working unemployed man in the music industry’! Our sympathies are extended!! “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” gets a mash up with the Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams” to end the set with more ad-libbing a plenty. So,another accomplished set from Mr. Hingley.

In an industry where it would be easy to just plod away with your extensive back catalogue on the whole reunion bandwagon, it’s refreshing to see an artist pushing the boundaries & taking risks. Whilst most of Tom’s latest output isn’t totally to this reviewers taste his work is nonetheless confident & catering for a new audience. I purchase an album & prepare to be converted! When I ask for the setlist I’m told he doesn’t use one. So, to be ‘converted’ Thames Valley Delta Blues’ is available on Cargo Records UK. Go seek.

Setlists
Dan Gordon
Make Time For Me/You
Hide Your Love Away
Turn Me On
Control Part 1
Devil Eyes
Come Along
Apologise
Crazy Baby
Black Bird
Its Only Love
Alone

Fearne
Throw A Stone
Different Tune
Coat Song
Skinny Wrists
Sophie
Sun Is Coming

http://www.myspace.com/fearne
http://www.myspace.com/tomhingley

Review by Ross Ferrone.
Pictures by Damian Godley.