Dette of Gratitude w/ Race Horses, Emmy the Great, Beth Jeans Houghton and Field Music @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 2 June 2010

It was as if the gig gods knew I needed something good after the mediocre-fest of Dot to Dot. I was having a read of some blogs and noticed this post. Emmy the Great at the Deaf Institute this week? How had I not clocked that one? So tickets were duly bought and we moseyed on down after work at around 8pm to get some quality Trof burgers before the show. As we walked in though we noticed the line-up posted on the door: The Acorn were starting imminently, followed by a band called Race Horses, Emmy the Great, Beth Jeans Houghton and topped off at 11 with another chance to see Field Music. That is a ridiculously good bill! As it turned out, the event had actually been put on as a surprise leaving party for a local lady called Bernie Phillips. Over the years she has accommodated bands playing and recording in the city in her home, and is now heading off to live in Canada, so there was a very sweet tone to the whole evening, even if we did feel a little like gate crashers!

The need for food unfortunately took precedent, and we missed The Acorn, which was a real shame. But we got upstairs in time to catch Race Horses and I am so glad we did – they were delightful. Although they hailed from Cardiff they had a Liverpool Beatles-esque sound, with a dash of the Wombats (that’s a compliment!). They were full of energy and smiled throughout the set, and they had some beautiful harmonies – I do love a male harmony. They really impressed the crowd and got a great reception. We bought their album so will get a review up here soon.

Emmy the Great was up next, and she was as remarkable as I expected. She read out a message to Bernie from the Howling Bells before cantering through some tracks from First Love. Although she was on stage on her own for most of the set, the songs sounded as great as they did on the album because her voice is so flawless. Highlights of a brilliant set were the candid We Almost Had a Baby, and Absentee with its hymn-like refrain Kyrie Eleison reminding me of mass as a child.

The evening was turning into one of the best gigs I’d been to in ages. It was lovely to sit in the wonderful Music Hall with a perfect view of these truly talented people performing little half hour sets. A friend once argued that 40 minutes is the most he ever likes to watch anything for, be it music or any other performance, and I’m starting to see his point.

It was difficult to imagine how you could follow Emmy’s set but wow, did Beth Jeans Houghton impress. I had heard a track or two of hers on the radio before but never had a proper listen, but she’s next on my list for back-catalogue buying. After a few words from Marc Riley paying tribute to Bernie and the evening which was apparently Beth’s idea, she came on in an Dolly Parton style outfit and wig and with a band dressed in a messed-up Marie Antoinette get-up. The set was song after joyful song combining traditional guitar and drums with trumpet-playing, Jarvis-style spoken word and a wonderful cover of Devil in Disguise. I loved every second of it and did not want it to end.

Finally the special guests Field Music came on. Having described them as bland in my Dot to Dot review, I was ready to put that down to a bad day, and in some ways I was able to. They were four lads who could play their instruments very well and obviously enjoyed playing with each other. They mentioned that this was their first gig in three years without a set list and they really had fun with it, improvising as they went along. The drum beat is the focus of most of the songs, which makes the sound somewhat flat and repetitive, and I can’t help thinking three guitars makes it too heavy, but although they’re not my thing the crowd liked them and they were a good end to an excellent night. The whole evening had been a real treat – Bernie must be pretty special.