The Thursday night Americana sessions at Portland Public House have cemented themselves in recent weeks as a must attend for lovers of good upbeat jams and crazy covers of sing-a-longs. Last week was no different, with a whopping five different acts getting up and down throughout the evening.
The lineup was billed as Dead Little Penny, Bonnie Strides and Albi and the Wolves, and none of them disappointed before coming together for a jam at the end of the night.
Fresh from a mid-week top 10 on 95bFM with latest single, Crystals, Dead Little Penny was brilliant. This was the best I’d heard her perform, in perhaps the least appropriate venue as well, as her songs really asked for attention and Portland was full and bubbling with conversations. Accompanied by some tasteful guitar, as always, from Rodney Fisher, Dead Little Penny is going from strength to strength and I can’t wait for the next recording.
Bonnie Strides have been absent for many long months now, holed up in their practice room writing dozens of songs and preparing to go in to the studio to record their first release. This time away was noticeable in their set, they were more polished and rehearsed than I’d seen them. They performed entirely new songs, with the sole exception of my favourite track Rich Boy which they opened with and had reworked nicely. Sporting banjo, acoustic-electric bass, drums and keyboard they had reduced the number of instruments used and this arrangement worked well for them. The harmonies from the three different voices wove nicely through the new songs, and although unfortunately they suffered from Portland being slightly too rowdy for them, I’d highly recommend checking them out when they have their own gig with a more intimate and attentive audience. One to watch, if you haven’t already been watching them.
Albi and the Wolves were amazing. This seems to be how it works when they play. They were missing their violin maestro Pascal, but Albi, Michael and Matt made up for this with their never ending energy and highly recognisable style of covers, intermingled with rowdy originals, some of their debut EP, recently released. I’ve always been more of a fan of their originals than their covers, but a night at Portland Public House dancing to anything Albi and the Wolves offer is something everyone has to do once.
Next Thursday the Americana Sessions will be hosted by Alan Meharry, the frontman of old Gunslingers Ball band, the Broadsides.
The lineup was billed as Dead Little Penny, Bonnie Strides and Albi and the Wolves, and none of them disappointed before coming together for a jam at the end of the night.
Fresh from a mid-week top 10 on 95bFM with latest single, Crystals, Dead Little Penny was brilliant. This was the best I’d heard her perform, in perhaps the least appropriate venue as well, as her songs really asked for attention and Portland was full and bubbling with conversations. Accompanied by some tasteful guitar, as always, from Rodney Fisher, Dead Little Penny is going from strength to strength and I can’t wait for the next recording.
Bonnie Strides have been absent for many long months now, holed up in their practice room writing dozens of songs and preparing to go in to the studio to record their first release. This time away was noticeable in their set, they were more polished and rehearsed than I’d seen them. They performed entirely new songs, with the sole exception of my favourite track Rich Boy which they opened with and had reworked nicely. Sporting banjo, acoustic-electric bass, drums and keyboard they had reduced the number of instruments used and this arrangement worked well for them. The harmonies from the three different voices wove nicely through the new songs, and although unfortunately they suffered from Portland being slightly too rowdy for them, I’d highly recommend checking them out when they have their own gig with a more intimate and attentive audience. One to watch, if you haven’t already been watching them.
Albi and the Wolves were amazing. This seems to be how it works when they play. They were missing their violin maestro Pascal, but Albi, Michael and Matt made up for this with their never ending energy and highly recognisable style of covers, intermingled with rowdy originals, some of their debut EP, recently released. I’ve always been more of a fan of their originals than their covers, but a night at Portland Public House dancing to anything Albi and the Wolves offer is something everyone has to do once.
Next Thursday the Americana Sessions will be hosted by Alan Meharry, the frontman of old Gunslingers Ball band, the Broadsides.
Bonnie Strides
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Dead Little Penny
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Albi and the Wolves