The show may be sans the Second Hand Orchestra that has accompanied Scottish folk troubadour James Yorkston and Swedish icon Nina Persson on the tour so far, but this contributes to a gently serene evening full of incredible rolling ‘R’s’ and tumbling grandfathers and the intimacy of the venue enhances this ambience.
The evening begins with James on keys and songs like ‘A Sweetness in You’, dedicated to his friend Scott Hutchison, and ‘An Upturned Crab’ generate a wonderfully mellow yet sombre aesthetic which is complimented by Nina’s clement harmonies. ‘Pieter Paulo van der Heyden’ tampers with the character of the evening slightly; its jaunty cadence complimented by Persson’s brassier vocals. Until this point, the collaboration has added delightful texture to the evening but ‘Mary’ is the moment when the combination of Yorkston’s baritone and Persson’s bittersweet vocal range really coalesce in incredibly poignant fashion.
James is always amusing company and we’re informed about how life on the road has changed since he has been joined by a Swedish pop star and achieving number one status on the folk album charts, which includes staying in hotels with swimming pools! We’re also provided with insight into particular songs including the animated musings of fatherhood and growing old on ‘The Heavy Lyric Police’. Despite lacking the jazzy thrust present on the album, there is still a frisky nature to proceedings which is maintained by the brilliant ‘Keeping up with the Grandchildren, Yeah’.
The second half of the show sees James shift on to guitar, and the focus turns to the first Second Hand Orchestra album The Wide, Wide River. The tone shifts slightly as well, and the jaunty nature becomes a tad more sombre on songs like ‘We Test the Beams’. ‘Struggle’ suffers from the absence of the band but watching James and Nina harmonise so fluidly is a joy and this peaks with ‘A Hollow Skeleton Lifts a Heavy Wing’ and the Scot jokes about the mostly depressing nature of the entire evening, which this song appears to magnify. The gentle album version is replaced by something a bit more rambunctious though and the pair conspire magnificently before managing to conclude the evening in more buoyant fashion with the glorious ‘Hold Out For Love’, which really illustrates how James and Nina have combined to create something quite unexpectedly marvellous. A rare treat.
Words & Images by Iain Fox
