Patrick Watson @ Union Chapel

Patrick Watson at Union Chapel Review

5/5
Bands: Patrick Watson
Venue: Union Chapel
Gig: Patrick Watson
Gig date: 4th June 2009
Posted on 13th June 2009 by johnbeyer

As the dying sunlight bleeds through Union Chapel’s wondrous stained glass windows, the brightest light in Islington tonight beams out from pearly whites amongst a wash of troubadour stubble beneath a tweed flat cap. For years Patrick Watson has resided in the shadows of his acclaimed compatriots from Feist to Metric, rustling up a wholesome blend of genuine eccentricity, resounding innovation and impeccable composition. Tonight, as the lights involuntarily dim, a swirling musical wind whistles around the unsung alternative genius of an era shrouded by the dull, claustrophobic smog of guitar leads and Casio tones. The hallowed cylindrical heart of the vestibule is laden with pans and pots, violins and woodblocks as Watson and his genial backing band swathe in the melancholic passion clasped by latest record ‘Wooden Arms’. Astounding on plastic, it’s both earth-shattering and equally heart-breaking live. Extended cries are drastically laid bare by a solitary delay pedal, and the equivocal beauty of Watson’s whisky-drenched vocal chords are unabashed, strung to quivering effect with the aid of megaphones. So heartfelt are the Canadian’s words that emotions fill to the brim and then spill all over his ochre orchestration. If the wry Buckley slides and shrieks of ‘Machinery of the Heavens’, penned to cheer his wife up whilst awaiting the birth of his only son, don’t inspire musical divinations in the soul of his offspring, not even Jeff’s visiting ghost could. The banjo-led country swing of ‘Big Bird in a Small Cage’ would have Sufjan Stevens renouncing his beloved stars and stripes, whilst ‘Man Like You’ is as warming as hot chocolate in Alaska. Or Québec for that matter. Having forgotten a vital component to his latest invention, Watson dashes offstage like a possessed professor scrambling for test tubes. On his return, the spectacular glints blindingly as he adorns a backpack that appears to be sprouting a choir of megaphones, all chiming Watson’s majestic voice in harmonious unison, firing perfection into the vacuous ceiling panels. Like a crazed pied piper, he leads his loyal band of virtuously experimental musicians onto the altar from where he serenades his devoted, secular followers a capella, before blurring the hallowed boundary between artist and audience, strutting and stomping through the church pews. Disappearing once more, he returns behind his understated piano, commanding us to “please be seated” before effortlessly plonking out the desperately stunning stories of loss and abandon of ‘Drifters’ and ‘Close to Paradise’, from seminaxl debut ‘Close to Paradise’. The Gospel according to Patrick still evidently retains a cult readership but when he’s held so closely to the hearts of so many, converting the masses is about as far from the aim as chart-friendly balladry. Whether due to his previous housing arrangement within a church or the ephemeral splendour of his stunning compositions, Watson’s never looked more at home. Praise be to Patrick Watson, Amen. http://music.virgin.com/2009/06/08/review-patrick-watson-union-chapel-lo...

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