GREEN RAY – LIVE, Tuesday 4^th October 2005

@ The Plough, Wood Street

Support : ACOUSTIC SPACEMEN

Well, this was the 2^nd gig of the “New Season” and I was keen to see what fettle the band were in. Apparently, the September outing had some fine moments, so all boded well for this evening.
Again, it would be fair to comment that the attendance was on the sparse side – although a few more were in situ for the main course.  ‘Tis a problem, these Tuesday gigs out @ Wood Street, but I can assure anyone lingering in thought, that the effort made is usually rewarded with a good evening’s entertainment.  Perhaps, in view of MAN’s current profile, a few more of their followers could do no worse than to check out The Plough gigs ?

OK – well the thought of an acoustic duo from the Urban Spacemen hardly set the pulse a-racing.  Grown men and acoustic guitars !  Anyway, I found their set a perfect outing and will gladly admit to being suitably impressed by some of the interplay between the players. Besides the original material, they managed to deliver a more than passable stroll through a little number that Ken and Richard could recall – by the name of “Your Eyes Are Looking Down”. Cue for applause and banter – even the thorny topic of royalties got mentioned !  Ken said he wished he knew some Urban Spacemen songs to repay the gesture !

The Ray unleashed a mighty “Fragile World” for a fiery opener. Although there were apologies for the volume, it seemed to suit the rather sinister majesty of the song. To say that they had the audience on the ropes would not be an understatement. First chance that I had had to see Richard’s new shiny black guitar and it seemed every bit as authentic as the old Strat. As is the current way of the world, a Dylan cover followed and, as with all the covers they tackle, did not seem out of place.  There was a rather loose vibe and apologies were tendered for some of the breaks between tunes, but it’s the merry chaos that we’ve come to expect as glances at set list sometimes bring forth surprises for the ensemble – let alone the gathering!  For me it’s just fine and dandy and is one of the attributes that endears them.

Highlights ? Well I couldn’t let a terrific “Morning Song” go without comment.  Some of the playing was stunning. Ken was so impressed that he left the mike there for Richard to deliver another vocal – it isn’t often that the Treece larynx gets back-to-back workouts.  “Swain’s Green” came along in fine style too. There were some new pieces too, for which I did not catch the titles.  They seemed to augur well for the future – especially if the circumstances ever present themselves for some further recording forays. “Swedish Detective Movie” got an outing towards the end of the set and I will freely admit to preferring this opus being kept back in terms of ammunition for the pacing of a set. Final comment – Whaley Minor was peerless for the umpteenth time.  Simon H played some neat guitar on the closing number and Ken was on form throughout. On this showing Richard Treece deserves to be up there with Clapton and Beck as a master of his genre. There were moments where I wondered if he’d mastered the melody of running water – such was the sound that never seemed to repeat itself among the solos.

All too soon we’d had the evening’s entertainment and ‘twas time to wend my way back across town to pick up the A3.  Was it worth it ?  Foolish question !

A thought has occurred to me as I knock this out as regards future recording. At the present the playing at the gigs carries a freshness and spontaneity, which may get lost in the studio. Perhaps someone needs to be brave enough to decide to bang out a LIVE CD with dodgy sonic quality moments that would be more than offset by the vibe captured on any given evening ? Ultimately, that decision should rest with the band.        



Review by Richard Gould.