Yup, a gig in our old living room! Tim was organising a party, and decided to call the bluff of this singer-songwriter, whom we'd both seen last year supporting Bob Mould under the guise of Si Connelly, and who'd declared that he was willing to do gigs in the living rooms of his fans!
So, Rachel and I popped over about 7.30 to the party, hanging out in our old house with friends, and availing ourselves of Penny's superb buffet! Sam - who'd revealed that the name change was forced, due to the attention of some bailiffs - had set his guitar and keyboard up in the front room area, and we chatted awhile with this affable young chap early doors. A bit of a flake, but a nice guy nonetheless!
Sam kicked off his set at 9.45 after a mess of socialising, and we gathered in the front room to hear him. He mixed his set of introspective bedroom angst material with some eclectic covers, and on U2's "With Or Without You" revealed an excellent vocal range, comfortably hitting the high notes Bono strained at! Some happy banter and a fine cover of Otis Redding's "Dock Of The Bay" were other highlights, the latter revealing Sam's soul influences, evident in his also Jeff Buckley-like vocal gymnastics and inflections. His own material was stronger than before as well, and the 1 1/4 hour set, which ended in an impromptu Christmas medley (!) seemed shorter!
So we left just after the set, as the party was going the way of the beered-up, but complimented Sam on the way out. Not the last time I see this talented young man, I hope!
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