Pearl Charles at The Slaughtered Lamb

Pearl Charles

The Slaughtered Lamb, 16 April 2024

How lucky am I to see the fabulous Pearl Charles in such a tiny, warm venue as The Slaughtered Lamb? Not only was it incredible to finally hear her beautiful voice live but she had a kick-ass band to boot.

I had actually been considering going to see The Wandering Hearts (a band I'm actually unfamiliar with) just because Charles has been supporting them on a UK tour but I'm glad I held off because not only did she have to bow out of their London date (because the show ended up postponed) but instead she announced this headline concert which not surprisingly, given how small it was, sold out straight away. I'm not sure how many London shows she's played in the past but she's only released two albums (and one EP) so far and the last record came out just as Covid shut everything down, so I think it's been a few years at least since she has toured these shores. In short, I've been waiting a long, long time to see her, but it was absolutely worth the wait.

The last time I was at The Slaughtered Lamb, for the lovely Kelsey Waldon, they actually had chairs and tables in front of the stage (which I did really love for a change) but this time, probably as it was completely sold out, it was back to standing only and as the stage is very low in this little basement of a venue, you kind of feel like you are standing with the band, which does very much make you feel part of what's going on. The other delightful thing about this show was that there was no support act and it started early! Yes, I am getting old but, while I do enjoy discovering new acts, it is sometimes nice when the show is all about the artist you have been dying to see. 

The tiny stage was full of equipment though as Charles had her full band, including a bassist, drummer and guitarist, as well as her own guitar and keyboard setup. The four piece had to make their way through the crowd to get to the stage and looked the very picture of a 70s Laurel Canyon rock band, complete with western shirts (the drummer), turtle necks (the bearded bassist) and retro patterned threads (the cowboy hatted long-haired guitarist). Charles herself was wearing a groovy rainbow painted white suit and looked amazing.

They began the show with the warm, pop 60s perfection of Sweet Sunshine Wine, immediately putting the crowd into a good mood, with Charles beaming, her bass player grinning while bopping along like a groovy jazz professor and her too-cool-for-school guitarist providing some licks, making the whole thing a little rockier than on record. 

It's true that Charles, particularly on her last record Magic Mirror, leans towards disco, but there's Americana there too as well as Fleetwood Mac at their most melodic. The Mac comparisons certainly come to light on the Christine McVie-esque Slipping Away, while Take Your Time has the ethereal beauty of classic Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter fare. Through it all Charles' voice is so lovely and she is a magnetic presence on stage and clearly has great chemistry with her excellent little band, particularly her guitarist who she often looks to smiling during the instrumental portions of the songs.

Since they didn't get to tour here for the release of Magic Mirror a good part of the show is given over to material from that record (which if of course very welcome, as it was a highlight of 2021, although I would have loved to have heard some tracks from the equally wonderful Sleepless Dreamer, her debut album but it's a small grumble), but excitingly Charles tells us they are also going to try out some new material tonight, and if it's anything to go by the new, upcoming album is going to be every bit as good, if not better, than her first releases. I think there was about five new tunes in all and they sounded great, in particular a sultry number called Smoke In The Limousine, which apparently is going to be the new single.

Halfway through the show, Charles put down her guitar and moved over to her keyboards and things got more funky and definitely more disco, with tracks like Imposter and What I Need. Again, there was definitely a Mac vibe to these, reminding me of Christine McVie's funky Hammond on You Make Loving Fun. Charles encouraged the crowd to dance and I have to say she definitely got people moving, there was one enthusiastic girl in particular near me singing and swaying to all the songs, which was nice to see.

As I've said before on this blog, I'm not a huge fan of encores if they aren't truly spontaneous moments at the end of shows, so I was very grateful when Charles said they were going to forego the pretense of an encore and instead just played a rousing and heart-filled, and yes, super danceable, version of maybe her biggest song, Only For Tonight, which definitely had the ABBA feel. Charles came out from behind her instruments and just sang her heart out and it was a fantastic and fun ending to the show.

At the end I saw Charles signing things and taking photos with fans and I did consider going to talk with her but I already own her albums and felt it was such a perfect night anyway. She did say she's coming back soon when her new record comes out and I'm definitely looking forward to it, but as I said at the beginning, I feel so lucky to have seen her live in such a wonderful setting. It was pure magic indeed.