Ryan Bingham at the Union Chapel

Ryan Bingham
Union Chapel, 26 April 2019

Before the gig tonight, while waiting in line, a man dressed as Jon Snow (from Game Of Thrones) walked past me, a white husky dog leading his way. Did he go to the gig? I have no idea but I like to think he did because Ryan Bingham's earthy story-led country-blues would be the perfect soundtrack to any would-be heir to the Iron Throne.

The last time I saw Bingham play live I must admit I was taken aback by just how goddamn pretty he is, particularly in contrast to his world-weary gruff vocals but nine years on, he's certainly no less handsome, but has aged well, fitting his voice a little more.

He arrives quietly on stage, the audience only gradually realising this guy sporting a rather magnificent white, feathered hat, is the main attraction tonight, and he shyly takes up his guitar, quickly pulling in all in and putting us under his spell.

He kicks things off with a couple of new tunes from his latest record, American Love Song (which do sound great), things really start to get good when he digs a little deeper into his back catalogue and not only do the old songs come out but plenty of old stories too. Bingham regales us with tales from his childhood, stories about his tough-as-nails grandmother, learning how to play the guitar (which includes him playing the first song he ever learned, the instrumental La Malagueña) and falling in love with his beloved wife (and the sweet tune he wrote just for her Lover Girl).

Some of the best stories came from his brief time as a hitchhiker and a truck driver giving him advice that he would never need, having decided this would be his first and last time thumbing for rides. A waitress at a truck stop, during this trip, inspired the lyrics to one of his best songs, Long Way From Georgia, telling him "boy you have a good smile" and she certainly wasn't wrong. Hearing the meaning behind certain songs can sometimes take something away from them but in this case it just added new depth and meaning to them. Plus Bingham is a fine raconteur, and it's actually pretty fun to just listen to him talk about his life.

The new album - like a lot of the best recently - has been inspired by the politics in America at the moment particularly Trump and his border policies. The most blatant of these is a fantastic song called Situation Station, which calls us Trump for "selling them lies" to the poor and it gets a big cheer from the crowd. Another, Got Damn Blues, is foot-tapping, riff-filled tale of rising above it all. He also prefaces the acoustic tune Wolves with a story about how someone was shot outside of his tour bus in the States recently, and even more scary it wasn't the first time.

He tells us it wasn't on the set list but, maybe due to the magical atmosphere in the Union Chapel or just how loving the audience have been, Bingham decides to give us what I'm sure many were waiting all night to hear: his Oscar-winning song, The Weary Kind. There's no doubt it's a great tune and it sounds particularly special tonight being played to a rapt audience in such a beautiful church.

I've seen Bingham play loud and proud with a rocking band before but seeing him playing these tunes in such an intimate, stunning place really brought things to another level for me.

Bingham is a great singer-songwriter but perhaps better than that, he's a superb storyteller, and I feel lucky to have been witness to his tales tonight. There is no doubt about it, Bingham is ageing like a good whiskey.