Kathryn Williams & Neill MacColl
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London
Friday, March 28th 2008
by Lex Lennon
A wintry storm was lashing London's Southbank, but on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, all was serene.
The recent collaboration between Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl has seen them tour the UK as a
duo after their album Two was released at the beginning of March. Tonight, however, they are joined by a bassist and drummer to complete the line-up for their first ever show as a full band.
Apparently, motherhood has helped Williams overcome stage fright to an extent, but her nervousness at the microphone is still endearing. Her banter with MacColl is personal and loving, like the two are best friends. They genuinely enjoy being on stage together and this comes over to the audience, making us feel like we're a part of an intimate gathering of friends that easily defies the 1000-seater concert hall.
Their musical connection and chemistry is evident; 'It's like falling in love. You don't have to explain everything and you can allow things to flow, and it just works,' whispers the reserved but quietly confident MacColl. Strangely enough, his analogy is fitting; on stage, they act like they have been happily married for decades.
Williams is frustratingly understated and holds off using the full power of her voice except for just the very special moments. But by heck, when she does let go, it's magical. Hairs stand on end, spines tingle all over the audience, and when coupled with MacColl's effortless harmonies, the effect is an angelic joining of two rich and emotion-laden voices.
It's during the sinister Grey Goes that Williams first goes up a gear. This song wouldn't have been out of place on Morcheeba's 1998 album Big Calm, her vocals reminiscent of Skye Edwards', providing a welcome change of pace.
The drummer has a beautiful 60s style and is a pleasure to watch; upright and controlled, he adds a skiffle-like drive to the duo's folky delicacy. The soft rustling of his brushes gives further warmth and depth while the bass player alternates between double bass and bass guitar.
As a perfect example of Williams' droll and entertaining inter-song skits, she calmly asks the lighting technician, 'Please turn down the lights a little bit, I feel like I'm either going to get a migraine or be abducted...'
Proficient use of a looping pedal gives an interesting angle to a couple of the songs. It's something that KT Tunstall is fond of using and means that Williams can layer multiple vocal lines over one another. To get that sort of thing right, both with vocal precision and the timing of the loops, is extremely hard. Quite apart from enjoying the song itself, watching Williams deftly control the pedal is impressive.
MacColl dedicates Tom Waits' Innocent When You Dream to an old friend who had died earlier in the week. He'd attended the funeral that morning and, whilst stoically delivered, his dedication is a touching moment for everyone.
Throughout the concert the underlying theme, for me, was the feeling of intimacy. By the end I felt like I knew them both and had been lucky enough to be at a private party when they just happened to get the guitars out. All I needed was a log fire and a glass of mulled wine and I would have been in heaven.
For more details about Kathryn Williams & Neill MacColl, including any forthcoming tour dates, simply click on their names.
