Hawksley Workman at the Luminaire
The Luminaire, 9 May 2009
I always love seeing Hawksley Workman live. The Canadian singer/songwriter is just one of those natural entertainers who seems so at home on stage that he could pull up a chair and stay there all night. Theatrical and grinning, with a soaring voice and surprisingly adept guitar skills, he playfully reinvents songs and even sometimes dramatically interrupts them to tell some far-out story, Hawksley-style.
Of course he's so funny and charming that you immediately forgive him for breaking the mood, in fact the weird and funny stories have now become one of the best parts of the Hawksley live experience. Whether or not it's because he's not classically handsome enough or too quirky and eclectic for mainstream tastes (I've seen him called everything from cabaret pop, to glam rock to folk balladeer, but none of those labels really apply), for some reason or another he seems to have escaped stardom. In fact, despite being particularly prolific, I don't think I've read anything about him in the British press since Mojo profiled him as a rising star back in 1999 when For Him And The Girls, his debut album, hit the stores. It's weird but it makes these intimate shows (where he's accompanied by just his old pal, piano player Mr Lonely) all the more special.
Despite it being a very warm May day in London Hawksley emerges from behind the Luminaire's velvet curtains wearing a waistcoat and jacket, topped off by a woolen hat and some thick, black rimmed glasses. He looks odd but cool, which in a way sums up his music too. He proceeds to play a very audience-friendly show, veering away from newer material in favour of old favourites, which of course are well honed by now and some numbers still evolving. But oh the banter: he tells us that he wrote Bullets after he asked his grandfather about the war and he told the young Hawksley to "go read a book"; goes into a surreal story, when he mistakenly says "button up" instead of "buckle up", about how his car wasn't selling because of its experimental buttoned seat belts and his adventures in Hyde Park trying to pet the dogs there and how the dog-loving Hawksley (who is away from home too much to own a dog) can't do that back in Toronto because he's made feel like he's a "dog pervert" etc, etc. Somehow it all fits in with the quirky nature of the songs and even in, what he calls, his only political song (You And The Candles) he is able to go off on a bizarre tangent and have people laughing.
Despite the music sounding great and the stories as entertaining as ever, the one gripe was the setlist, which contained not one surprise. He played just one song from his most recent albums Los Manlicious/Between The Beautifuls, The City Is A Drag, which actually turned into something of a singalong (if Hawksley was worried that people wouldn't be as familar or as into the newer material, that should have been proof that wasn't the case). Oh to have heard something like Claire Fontaine, Ilfracombe, God Decides, A Knife In The Country or It Shall Be, but it wasn't to be. If only I had shouted something. That said Hawksley was suffering from a cough all night and although you couldn't hear it so much in his voice, maybe he was keeping to safer material so not to ravish his vocal chords.
All in all, a great show but hopefully next time he'll be as daring in his choice of songs as he is in his music.
Of course he's so funny and charming that you immediately forgive him for breaking the mood, in fact the weird and funny stories have now become one of the best parts of the Hawksley live experience. Whether or not it's because he's not classically handsome enough or too quirky and eclectic for mainstream tastes (I've seen him called everything from cabaret pop, to glam rock to folk balladeer, but none of those labels really apply), for some reason or another he seems to have escaped stardom. In fact, despite being particularly prolific, I don't think I've read anything about him in the British press since Mojo profiled him as a rising star back in 1999 when For Him And The Girls, his debut album, hit the stores. It's weird but it makes these intimate shows (where he's accompanied by just his old pal, piano player Mr Lonely) all the more special.
Despite it being a very warm May day in London Hawksley emerges from behind the Luminaire's velvet curtains wearing a waistcoat and jacket, topped off by a woolen hat and some thick, black rimmed glasses. He looks odd but cool, which in a way sums up his music too. He proceeds to play a very audience-friendly show, veering away from newer material in favour of old favourites, which of course are well honed by now and some numbers still evolving. But oh the banter: he tells us that he wrote Bullets after he asked his grandfather about the war and he told the young Hawksley to "go read a book"; goes into a surreal story, when he mistakenly says "button up" instead of "buckle up", about how his car wasn't selling because of its experimental buttoned seat belts and his adventures in Hyde Park trying to pet the dogs there and how the dog-loving Hawksley (who is away from home too much to own a dog) can't do that back in Toronto because he's made feel like he's a "dog pervert" etc, etc. Somehow it all fits in with the quirky nature of the songs and even in, what he calls, his only political song (You And The Candles) he is able to go off on a bizarre tangent and have people laughing.
Despite the music sounding great and the stories as entertaining as ever, the one gripe was the setlist, which contained not one surprise. He played just one song from his most recent albums Los Manlicious/Between The Beautifuls, The City Is A Drag, which actually turned into something of a singalong (if Hawksley was worried that people wouldn't be as familar or as into the newer material, that should have been proof that wasn't the case). Oh to have heard something like Claire Fontaine, Ilfracombe, God Decides, A Knife In The Country or It Shall Be, but it wasn't to be. If only I had shouted something. That said Hawksley was suffering from a cough all night and although you couldn't hear it so much in his voice, maybe he was keeping to safer material so not to ravish his vocal chords.
All in all, a great show but hopefully next time he'll be as daring in his choice of songs as he is in his music.
Comments
Post a Comment