The Setlist & The Script

This Saturday saw the first leg of a triple-header of events coming under the banner of ‘Birkenhead Live‘. If this was a taste of things to come then the good citizens of Wirral are in for a treat. Held on the sunny, newly refurbished outdoor stage at Future Yard the crowd were presented with an entertaining, eclectic mix of performances from LASS, Jamie Wooding, Murmurs and headliners Skinny Living.

LASS is the project of Wigan sisters Joy and Grace Moore. They share vocal duties and Grace plays acoustic guitar on soulful, upbeat pop songs. As former alumni of Leeds Conservatoire the musicianship was of an exemplary standard, and as siblings the quality of their vocal harmonies was perfection. They started their set with Green Lights, and Steal What’s Mine, a song about jealousy, before bringing the crowd onboard with a cover of Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody – accompanied by two impromptu dancers from the crowd.

20’s Are Weird is a thoughtful examination of imposter syndrome, where you are supposed to behave like an adult but still feel childlike, ‘watching Friends re-runs in my Air Force 1’s’. Grace was actually wearing a pair of Air Force 1’s. I notice that sort of thing. Sorbet was introduced as ‘Here’s a song for all you vegans out there’. Next came another vibrant cover –Dive by Olivia Dean. LASS concluded their set with Send My Love and second sing-along moment (once Joy had taught the crowd the chorus) Good Company. LASS have a delightful, poppy, soulful R n B sound that is readymade for mainstream daytime radio. Catch them while you can, as Grace will be heading out to LA to record her debut solo album later this year.

Jamie Wooding is a 23 year-old singer-songwriter from Skelmersdale. His performance of his own material (and one cover) was poised and polished. Seeing a young, Adidas tracksuit-bottomed guitarist with a loop pedal, lead some in the crowd to the misapprehension that they were in for some Gerry Cinnamon knock-off material. They were quickly dispelled of this view as Wooding confidently informed them ‘if that’s what you’re after then you can head over to Smokie Mo’s in town’. Wooding’s influences would appear to be of the Sam Fender/Tom Grennan variety, and he did a rather good job of the former’s Seventeen Going Under.

Wooding’s own material as exemplified by songs like All of the Lights and Someday is thoughtful, pensive, indie rock with an edge. By The Waves is a song that must mean a great deal to Wooding as it is the only tune that survived the cull of his now deleted debut E.P. Wooding has been supporting The Lottery Winner’s on their recent tour and there was a debut for In Your Head a new song he has co-written with the band’s singer Thom Rylance. He finished his set with his most streamed tune to-date – 2 Kids (in Love), a song with liberal use of the loop pedal which went some way to pacify the Cinnamonists in the crowd.

Liverpool trio (or is it 4-piece?) Murmurs are a ‘riddle wrapped in an enigma’ as Churchill might have put it if he’d ever turned his hand to a bit of light reviewing. But it’s a puzzle you never tire of trying to crack. Take tonight for example, singer Kieran McKenna can’t be exactly sure how many are in the band, but he’s fairly sure it’s three, for now, possibly. There are certainly three people on stage – McKenna, bassist John Bradley, and as if to demonstrate the bands unorthodoxy, the drummer has been replaced by saxophonist Michael Fay.

Murmurs sound too is collision of influences – Merseybeat, psychedelia, and rock mingled with catchy melodies in the style of The La’s and The Coral. At times it sounds like the three members of the band are all playing the same song, but each in their own different genre. It’s gloriously chaotic and every song seems to teeter on the precipice of collapse, but thankfully never does. It’s musical Jenga. The atmosphere of confusion is heightened when Fay’s music is lifted off his stand and is blown across the stage by a stray gust of wind. He compensates by improvising until the song’s end. McKenna’s song introductions are as quixotic as the band’s material ‘This one’s a love song’ – Not My Girl, or ‘This is a heavier one. Well normally. When we’ve got a drummer’ – The Beast. A short but entertaining set is brought to a conclusion with the upbeat Feel.

Singer Ryan Johnston has described Skinny Living is being ‘a term that describes the financial reality and lifestyle of the working class. Hard graft on a low income with a lust for life, passion for family and an optimistic attitude about the future’. The way the band manifest this idea is by producing gloriously inclusive indie-soul music. The band’s sound is defined by the twin acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies of Will Booth and Danny Hepworth, and the soul-filled passionate vocals of Johnston.

Skinny Living opened with Breathe and Let Me In songs which highlight the breadth and feeling of Johnston’s soul-drenched honied vocals. He’s from Belfast so I should make some attempt at a Van Morrison comparison, but other Celts spring to mind, Paulo Nutini and Jack Cochrane. There’s an outing for the the soaring, anthemic Sleepwalking which had the crowd gently swaying in synchronicity before the band played their latest single Never Say Die.

There was one cover, a popped-in souled-out version of the Bob Marley classic Three Little Birds, following which the gig descended into mild disorder as firstly one audience member handed her knickers to one of the band, and then another used Ryan Johnston as the conduit through which to issue a marriage proposal. Thankfully Skinny Living still had the tunes to drag the show back on track with the upbeat yet threatening My Blood and the rattling Let Go. Skinny Living are heading out later this year to record an album. They are going to the famous Muscle Shoals recording studio in Alabama. It would be hard to think of a venue that would be a better fit.

Birkenhead Live have two more events scheduled for the 12th and 13th of August at the same venue and headlined respectively by The Royston Club and The Lottery Winners, but also including artists of the calibre of Rianne Downey (back after a short substitute performance with Paul Heaton!), The Clause, and Andrew Cushin amongst others. Tickets are selling fast. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Ian Dunphy