Opening each half we had a few songs from the well known local jazz and blues singer Lorna Reid, accompanied by blues guitarist Neil Warden. Her own compositions, including one penned jointly with the evening's main attraction, with Warden adding the musical flourishes. Reid has an excellent voice, and the songs are pleasant enough, and the final, gutsier, number, with Warden playing slide on lap steel guitar, gave a better indication of what a fine blues singer she is.
Hewerdine self mocking describes himself as a purveyor of mid-tempo balladry, a term that is accurate, but greatly undersells one of the finest songwriters around. He has a huge back catalogue of successful material to draw on, and the evening mixed classics like Dragonfly and Starlight with some more recent numbers from his new album. He has that seemingly effortless knack for marrying striking lyrics with memorable melodies which make you feel even the newer songs feel like old friends. Add in the several numbers that call for a bit of audience participation and you have a show that immediately feeling intimate and welcoming. Boo's wry humour and self deprecation/mock aggrandisement provide plenty of laughs, be it stories of his own disaster, or Eddi Reader getting lost in a Japanese shopping centre.
Fans of Eddi will know that Boo has been her close conspirator for decades, and he's written many of her most famous hits. While his voice is in no way a match for Reader's soaring vocals technically, he sings wisely to his limits in a distinctive tone that's both whispery and plaintive. It's a tribute to his singing ability that his delivery of classic Reader tracks like Patience of Angels never leaves you feeling short changed. Different, not worse.
Hewerdine is a proper entertainer and deserves much wider recognition.
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