Gavin Hammond @ the Dog House, London
January 21st, 2008 - by Francesco
Gavin Hammond at the Dog House. Dec 17th Kennington, London
Guitar effects. Funny little things. Give them to a loud electric band and they’ll sound well, louder and more electric. Give them to Gavin Hammond and his co-pilot Andy Trowers and prepare for something pretty special. Tonight, at the Dog House, Gavin kindly lets me play a little set of my own to a polite & interested audience although, fair to say, a few are more interested in getting to the bar again…and letting everyone now about it too. It’s a Sunday night and I’m feeling a little worse for wear after the weekend, so this is the right place for me to be.
When Hammond takes to the stage, even though this is not the first time I’ve seen him play, there are two things that just floor me. First, the SOUND that two people on guitars manage to create at a live gig. They share about 40 guitar pedals – I’m not kidding. The one that seems to take their favor is the loop station. (On a side note. I’ve seen shows where people use this little box and when it goes wrong, oh my does it goes wrong).
So Gavin plays a little lick or mouths a beat into the mic and the loop station repeats it, and over that they layer sound-scapes and guitar layers till the room is full & take off is imminent.
The second thing and one that always makes me think I really must write more songs! The sheer volume of fantastic songs this guy has written is staggering. I could just as easily be sitting here watching a Tom Waits or JJ Cale leisurely going through their back catalogue. Un-phased by people intently watching, I got the feeling the standard of performance would be the same if there were two or 2000 people in the audience. That’s pretty special.
We’re given a little treat as well in the shape of Rick Astley’s “classic” Never Gonna Give You Up. All laughter aside though, it comes across with a broody & dark sincerity that you wouldn’t really expect from the ginger one’s original. Maybe it’s time to re-venture into the world of Rick Astley?? No no, it’s definitely not. The point I’m making is that this was a great interpretation of a lame ass song!
Originally from Cambridge he lived and worked in Australia, where he toured extensively, and I get the sense that the big open spaces of where he toured may play a big part in his songwriting. Life’s big open road seems a very familiar street through Gavin Hammond’s songs.
[audio:http://www.52shows.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/03-wild-cherry-1.mp3]
Gavin Hammond – Wild Cherry
