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Ray LaMontagne is a difficult man to deduce. Throughout 80 minutes of
performing at the Union Chapel, he spoke audibly only briefly,
and he hardly stopped for breath before breaking into song.
He is, apparently, chronically shy but in the current climate of a James
Blunt-induced singer-songwriter mass takeover, it was refreshing to watch a
man perform who seemed energised and liberated as soon as he hit a note yet
retiringly shy without a guitar in his hand.
No self-promotion, amusing anecdotes, celebrity guests or flashing lights;
just a modest man with an extraordinary rasping voice and some very pleasant
songs.
Starting with the delicate Shelter, he covered a dozen tracks from his
first release Trouble and the recent Till The Sun Turns Black in the
most basic of styles, shouts of "We love you Ray!" bought only an
embarrassed smile as he appeared to apply a furrowed-brow level of
concentration and intensity to each track - Ray LaMontagne is clearly a man
to whom his music means a great deal and it shows.
The venue was also a poignant choice with the Union Chapel promoting a reserved
ambience in its seated audience which was a perfect match for a performance
that involved no showmanship but a great deal of devotion to musical
excellence by the artist.
Even to the point where he stopped a few bars into a song having made an inaudible mistake, only restarting after a mumbled
apology which simply drew more quiet adulation from the audience.
After 30 odd minutes of original material the audience were treated to small
selection favourite covers - this is, however, where the reserved
performance proves a little frustrating. It was impossible to hear his
obviously heartfelt descriptions and explanation of the cover he was about
to play (unless you were sat at the front of the Chapel) so the songs had no
context and only the most ardent music lover might have been able to place
their origin.
That said, he did produce one outstanding cover of a Nina Simone track before reverting back to his own material for the last half of
the evening.
Despite a curfew of 10pm the evening was only just coming to a climax when
the hour approached and the lyrics of Trouble were howled through the
Chapel. But this is no criticism, he has a unique guttural voice that is
unmatched by almost anything you'll hear and although he may not be much to
watch on-stage, tracks like Till The Sun Turns Black (complete with mouth
organ accompaniment) more than make up for any shortcomings in what was a
fascinating display of modesty and fine music.
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