Fyfe Dangerfield W/The Boy Who Trapped The Sun - Sound Control, Manchester
The venue is roughly half full when Colin MacLeod – under the moniker of The Boy Who Trapped The Sun – unassumingly takes to the stage, accompanied by Stacey Sievwright on the cello.
He commences with ‘Golden’, the beautifully melodic opener to his debut album, Fireplace, and later sings the album’s title track with equally compelling quality. The recent single ‘Dreaming Like A Fool’ receives favourable acknowledgement from the crowd, in addition to awkward titters when introduced as a song about "girls who've tried to stab me".
Unfortunately, even at the front of the stage, it is difficult to fully appreciate the delicately performed intricacies above the chatter within intimate surroundings. MacLeod does nothing wrong tonight, and no doubt gains a modest number of new fans by the end of his short set but, quite understandably, the crowd are predominantly here for Fyfe.
A lazier person might state that a Fyfe Dangerfield solo show is essentially a scaled down version of a Guillemots show; but this would be a vast discredit to him.
Two violinists place themselves at the back of the stage and commence a string arrangement before Fyfe emerges to a strong reception. He then plays guitar alongside his accompaniment in a stripped down version of ‘Faster Than The Setting Sun’; a standout track on his album Fly Yellow Moon.
Next up is ‘Livewire’, which he begins on his own before being joined by his backing guitarist, bassist and drummer, who creep onto the stage - announced only by the effective spotlights shone upon them - for a rendition which adds greater depth to its album version.
‘So Brand New’ and ‘High On The Tide’ are both wonderfully executed (with the latter being very much akin with his Guillemots recordings), at which point proceedings have built up commendably; a strong accomplishment only four tracks into the show.
As part of a mid-set stint, Fyfe leaves his guitarists at the side of the stage to experiment on his own for a while, seemingly reverting away from the planned set list for the evening. Of these, a version of ‘Trains To Brazil’, performed only with a synthesizer and its looped drum beats in the background, is heavily appreciated and provides a unique moment for fans.
Whilst Fyfe can seem to do little wrong musically, tonight is the first night of the tour, and sporadic moments of disorganisation on his part do distract from events a little too often, although his endearing admissions of having his head in the clouds of late are not hard to forgive.
That said, over an hour into the main set there are several moments (‘Barricades’, ‘When You Walk In The Room’, and in particular, the fantastic ‘She Needs Me’) that could have easily been great finales before an inevitable encore, but alas, they are not. Fyfe’s impromptu set list altering is no bad thing in itself, but the pace of the show is lost as a result.
When he finally reaches the concluding ‘Any Direction’, eighty minutes have passed, and it is sadly time for this reviewer to catch his last train home. If I was a betting man, however (which I’m not), I would be certain to place money on ‘She’s Always A Woman’ being a prominent part of the encore, which would no doubt have gone down well with old and new fans alike.
First night jitter criticisms aside, tonight’s show is extremely enjoyable, and the greatness of Fyfe’s vocals and character far outweigh any shortcomings resulting from being ill prepared.
He commences with ‘Golden’, the beautifully melodic opener to his debut album, Fireplace, and later sings the album’s title track with equally compelling quality. The recent single ‘Dreaming Like A Fool’ receives favourable acknowledgement from the crowd, in addition to awkward titters when introduced as a song about "girls who've tried to stab me".
Unfortunately, even at the front of the stage, it is difficult to fully appreciate the delicately performed intricacies above the chatter within intimate surroundings. MacLeod does nothing wrong tonight, and no doubt gains a modest number of new fans by the end of his short set but, quite understandably, the crowd are predominantly here for Fyfe.
A lazier person might state that a Fyfe Dangerfield solo show is essentially a scaled down version of a Guillemots show; but this would be a vast discredit to him.
Two violinists place themselves at the back of the stage and commence a string arrangement before Fyfe emerges to a strong reception. He then plays guitar alongside his accompaniment in a stripped down version of ‘Faster Than The Setting Sun’; a standout track on his album Fly Yellow Moon.
Next up is ‘Livewire’, which he begins on his own before being joined by his backing guitarist, bassist and drummer, who creep onto the stage - announced only by the effective spotlights shone upon them - for a rendition which adds greater depth to its album version.
‘So Brand New’ and ‘High On The Tide’ are both wonderfully executed (with the latter being very much akin with his Guillemots recordings), at which point proceedings have built up commendably; a strong accomplishment only four tracks into the show.
As part of a mid-set stint, Fyfe leaves his guitarists at the side of the stage to experiment on his own for a while, seemingly reverting away from the planned set list for the evening. Of these, a version of ‘Trains To Brazil’, performed only with a synthesizer and its looped drum beats in the background, is heavily appreciated and provides a unique moment for fans.
Whilst Fyfe can seem to do little wrong musically, tonight is the first night of the tour, and sporadic moments of disorganisation on his part do distract from events a little too often, although his endearing admissions of having his head in the clouds of late are not hard to forgive.
That said, over an hour into the main set there are several moments (‘Barricades’, ‘When You Walk In The Room’, and in particular, the fantastic ‘She Needs Me’) that could have easily been great finales before an inevitable encore, but alas, they are not. Fyfe’s impromptu set list altering is no bad thing in itself, but the pace of the show is lost as a result.
When he finally reaches the concluding ‘Any Direction’, eighty minutes have passed, and it is sadly time for this reviewer to catch his last train home. If I was a betting man, however (which I’m not), I would be certain to place money on ‘She’s Always A Woman’ being a prominent part of the encore, which would no doubt have gone down well with old and new fans alike.
First night jitter criticisms aside, tonight’s show is extremely enjoyable, and the greatness of Fyfe’s vocals and character far outweigh any shortcomings resulting from being ill prepared.
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