The Webb Sisters at the Union Chapel, Islington (Nov.19)

[John Etherington]

The Union Chapel was the perfect setting for The Webb Sisters third and final London concert of the year. The church was beautifully lit and comfortably heated for a November night. Having queued for nearly an hour, we managed to get seats dead-centre in the third row. The building appeared to be full, both downstairs and in the balcony. The show opened with (a new band to me) To Kill a King, and they proved to be a worthwhile and original support act.

Charley and Hattie took to the stage at about 9pm. They were both dressed in black and white - Hattie with hair piled high, and Charley wearing a black riding-style jacket; both looking as beautiful as ever. They were accompanied by brother Brad on drums, and their friend Chris on double bass. Three surprises of the evening were a new song ("Missing Person/When Will You Come Home"?), "I Need You" (the George Harrison song, featured on a recent Mojo CD), and "There is a Shadow". On the latter of these three songs, they were accompanied by The Minstrels - an ensemble of young girls from Kent, who were all dressed in black. This was particularly stunning, and a great highlight of the evening. The evening ended with the a capella "I Want You to Want Me" and "Heart Like a Wheel", where as usual Charley and Hattie came down from the stage to the front of the audience, and worked their way along the aisles. The evening was a resounding triumph for the Webb Sisters. After the show, they made their way up the aisle accompanied by Peter Asher (my only chance to say "hi" to them) where they were promptly surrounded by the hordes of fans waiting at the merchandise stand.

Full set-list was as follows:

Take All Your Love Out on Me
Baroque Thoughts
Calling This a Life
In Your Father's Eyes
Baby Can I Hold You Tonight?
Words That Mobilize
Torches
Everything Changes
Missing Person/When Will You Come Home
If It Be Your Will
There is a Shadow
Always on My Mind
I Need You
This Old Wheel
The Goodnight Song
1000 Stars
Savages
I want You to Want Me
Heart Like a Wheel

Love to all, John E

[Bhasi]

Great review, John! I was pleased to get a centre seat up on the balcony, even though I only arrived just before 9.00. I thought they were, to quote Our Man, 'sublime'. Perhaps the mix could have favoured the voices a little more? Knowing the words from the albums helped but some of their diction got lost in the lovely ecclesiastical acoustic. Gorgeous sound overall, though. I'd have loved to hear their stunning take on Please, Please Me (from the iTunes version of Savages) but maybe it requires greater forces. Very minor carping aside, a memorable evening, then. Can't wait to hear the next album.

[StBruno]

Little to add to your report John, comprehensive as ever. Wonderful setting and performance, loved the accoustic bass, and it was good to hear new material and the prospect of a new album. You're right Bhasi, there were a couple of numbers where the mix seemed to go a bit muddy on the vocals, but otherwise as close to perfection as you could hope for in a live show. The clarity of the sisters' voices and the accoustic possibilities of the chapel were really highlighted by the final unamplified songs beneath the central lantern.

Special thanks to Jarkko and the Webbs for making a guest list place available which let me bring my 14-year-old daughter along for her first experience of the fringes of Cohen world. Typically reticent, her only comment was 'they were really very good' - which run through google teenage translate must mean the Webbs have a new fan!

All best
Bruno

[ladydi]

Excellent review, John! Isn't it wonderful that Hattie and Charley now have THEIR opening act! How times change...and how beautiful talent increases!

[lizzytysh]

LOL... love your Google translate of your daughter's comment, StBruno. It looks like they're really making their mark . Such a full night of music! Thanks, John, for your very descriptive review.

[TommyJ]

It was a fabulous evening. I took my 2 daughters (aged 10 and along as they are big fans of TWS, and they absolutely loved it! We managed to get seats right in the front row and then we managed to have a chat with Hattie and Charley afterwards, and they were really lovely with my girls - a magical evening. Last year I took my eldest daughter (then aged 9) to see Leonard Cohen in Lille last year and we happened to meet him the next day. That was one of the clear highlights of my life so far. So my eldest daughter has been to 2 gigs now, met the artist(s) both times and never sat further back than the 4th row! Just hope the rest of her life doesn't disappoint! Wonderful stuff. Thanks, John, for the report.

TommyJ

[John Etherington]

Tommy - You and your daughters were sitting to the left of the front row, were you not?! When I saw those two young ladies in their Leonard/Charley hats, I said "I bet they're either relatives of the Webb family, or daughters of an ardent Leonard devotee"!

All the best, John E

[TommyJ]

John, that's absolutely right. They were very proud of their hats and ludicrously excited by the whole evening (I had a fun childhood, but my parents didn't take me to gigs when I was ten / eight!). They heard some audience members saying "Hey look, it's the mini-Webb Sisters!", which went down very well. When the Webbs did their encore about 1 foot away from us, it was pretty fantastic. They were so generous with their time afterwards and made my girls feel really special (they are very skilled and patient, and come across as very genuine). My girls (and my son, who at five was really too young for this one!) really do love Leonard Cohen and the Webb Sisters. That's partly a product of me controlling the car stereo, but actually it's a product of the wonderful music. When we saw Mr Cohen at Lille and he was playing songs that my then 9 year old hadn't heard before, she seemed to laugh spontaneously at the funnier lines, which was quite something. She was (almost!) as excited as I was to meet him the next day and the photos have pride of place in our house. Happy days!

All the best
Tom

[John Etherington]

Tommy - I presume you've all seen this video?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE5N70n0FGg

[TommyJ]

I hadn't seen that - tremendous stuff! Thanks for posting it!

All the best
Tom