Stephen Fretwell
Stephen Fretwell
The Point, Cardiff
Tuesday 9th October 2007
By Jay Cockayne
Isn't it fantastic when you get more for your money? You get palpitations, thinking there must be a mistake, but keep quiet, hoping that no one notices and shatters your secret excitement...
Here it was: a buy-one-get-two-free acoustic bonanza, and first up was Manchester act Lazy Bones with the voice of Bluetones lead singer Mark Morris, but with a folkier, Simon and Garfunkel-esque edge. Sadly, however, Lazy Bones didn't really deliver anything memorable. His flowing melodies would be ideal as background music, which, in effect, is what they became when a lot of the crowd started talking amongst themselves.
However, when the second offer in tonight's deal, Simone White, crept up on stage like a timid little mouse, there was hushed anticipation. No introduction, just a polite cough, and the performance began. Her pop-folk style is enchanting, and her voice alone is reason enough to listen. Completely unique, with magnificent control from soft to strong at the beat of a heart, White could be singing the dictionary and you'd be hypnotised.
This was the opening night of the tour, and Fretwell started as he meant to go on with a perfect set. Not just the fact that his voice was as alluringly husky and sensual as ever, but also that the progression throughout was brilliantly fluid. He started off with the popular and lyrically melancholic What's That You Say Little Girl from his debut album Magpie, followed by a couple of tasters from his new album Man On The Roof, which continued the mellow atmosphere. The Ground Beneath Your Feet is a darker, haunting love song dealing with unrequited love and Funny Hat, in his words, is about some 'funny goings on in a hotel room'. Best not to ask really. Old favourite Run was an approved choice, both amongst long-supporting followers and soon-to-be long-supporting followers, although by this time Fretwell obviously thought there was need for a change, elbowing the guitar out the way and picking up the pace on the keyboard.
Emily, Fretwell's biggest radio-played hit to date, was also a crowd pleaser, and although he admits he hates the song, you wouldn't have guessed as he poured everything into the performance. By then he was back on the acoustic but soon after, his supporting band came out to help finish off the job nicely. Acoustic sets are all very well, but sometimes you need the depth that a set of drums and an accompanying bass can give, which was noticeable in the song Dead, which, ironically, is one of Fretwell's more upbeat-sounding tracks.
It would be easy to group Fretwell in with the 'guys with guitars' crowd, which currently sees the likes of Blunt, Johnson, Gray and Bedingfield squabbling over who can get the highest chart topper, but then, it wouldn't be fair to them, as Fretwell would outclass them all, and he wouldn't want to be in that group anyway. Perhaps it is all a bit 'miserable', as he himself says, but it's making him and thousands of others very happy indeed.
For full details of Stephen Fretwell's current tour dates, see his page here on Ents24.
