Saturday 7 June 2014

WENLOCK HILL: A review of Merrymouth's performance at the Tolbooth!



Below is our review of Merrymouth's performance at the Tolbooth in Stirling on May 10th! Support on the night came from the fantastic Pete MacLeod! Enjoy and share!



Merrymouth concluded the Scottish leg of their tour in support of their brand new studio album "Wenlock Hill" at Stirling's Tollbooth.  The night kicked off with an exceptional performance from Pete MacLeod, a signee of Alan McGee's 359 Music.  The blend of Pete's acoustic guitar and the electric guitar of lead guitarist Andy created a unique atmosphere and the extra reverb and echo all enhanced the mystical nature of Pete's songs as well.  He played a short set which consisted mostly of songs from his album, "Rolling Stone".  Their was also a little verse or two of "Wonderwall" thrown in amongst brand new song "Away".
 
The main act of Merrymouth followed and they did certainly not disappoint.  Their well-honed stagecraft comes to the fore in this more intimate folk-orientated setting than it has previously at the more rock and roll affair that is Ocean Colour Scene gigs.  The humour and between-song conversation (including a tale involving a man with an axe in Glenrothes) was humorous and well received from the audience.  The set included almost exclusively Merrymouth songs; the "Wenlock Hill" album was performed in full.  One OCS track did make the cut however in the form of Jimmy Miller tribute, "Jimmy Wonder", which made a fine addition to the set. Other highlights included "In The Midst Of Summertime", "Shadow Knows" (as inspired by Liam Gallagher), "Over My Head", the 'misguided buffoonery' of "Salt Breeze", a 'folked up' re-interpretation of Strangles classic "Duchess" and of course the tale of 'misery, death and dispair' (as Dan put it) that was "Mr. Marshall", which brought the set to a nice conclusion.
 
The band (Simon Fowler, Dan Sealey, Adam Barry and outstanding folk musician John McCusker) were more than willing to hang around at the end to chat to fans and sign albums as well.  Overall, a top night, a top venue and top acts - highly recommended!



Pete MacLeod Setlist: 'Re:Ality' / 'Away' / 'Rolling Stone' / 'Give A Little Love' / 'Let It Shine' / 'God Speed' / 'Today I Went Swimming'

Merrymouth Setlist: 'Wenlock Hill' / 'Salt Breeze' / 'Sweetest Words' / 'Blink Of An Eye' / 'Without You' / 'Last Train But One' / 'That Man' / 'In The Midst Of Summetime' / 'He Was A Friend Of Mine' / 'Shadow Knows' / 'Teashop Serenade' / 'Over My Head' / 'Jimmy Wonder' / 'Duchess' / 'I Am The Resurrection' / 'If You Follow' / 'The Ragged Spiral' / 'Mr Marshall'



Hope you enjoyed this feature on Merrymouth and Pete MacLeod!

Be sure to check out our previous feature on The Front!

Check out Merrymouth here - http://www.merrymouth.net/

Check out Pete MacLeod here - http://www.petemacleod.net/

You can also like our facebook page to keep up to date with all future interviews and reviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

AB RECORDS

No comments:

Post a Comment