Richmond Fontaine, with support from Fernando - The Tunnels, Bristol, 18th April, 2016

The End

Willy Vlautin with The Delines, and Fernando in support, last played The Tunnels in November 2014 and that was a brilliant gig.

Last night's return had Fernando playing a sweet set with long time recording and performing partner guitarist Dan Eccles [also from RF]. So much of the material Fernando played consisted of gentle ballads so this highlights his wonderful vocal but also quality as a performer because it is hard, it seems to me, to engage an audience - as he did fully - with that kind of thoughtful, meditative pace, as you might expect in a totally acoustic folk setting. It has to be said that Eccles' amped-up guitar work adds phenomenal depth to the live presentation of Fernando's great songs, including covers, and the reverb/tremolo he gets from vibrating the neck is amazing 

This return also had Willy now with long-time band Richmond Fontaine playing on their farewell tour, and songs from their final album You Can't Go Back If There's Nothing To Go Back To featured throughout: those familiar plaintive Vlautin narratives in Wake Up Ray, I Can't Black It Out If I Can't Wake Up, I Got Off The Bus and A Night In The City. These are so moving in their storytelling core, but the band playing live fill this out with other emotional depths, with Freddy Trujillo on thumping bass and some lovely harmony vocals, and the great Sean Oldham on backbone drums and also vocal duties. Eccles is again so influential in this, the haunting resonance of his guitar work on A Night in the City a fine example. And as a whole tight band! In addition to these musical vignettes, the band rocked in older, earlier RF numbers [and hard-core fans from that past clearly enjoyed this selection from the archives] as well as from a Ventures-esque instrumental to a psychedelic jam like The Door's The End in Apocalypse Now.

But I hope they all return again in whatever formation brings them back to the UK.

My reviews of both Fernando's latest here and Richmond Fontaine's here.

Richmond Fontaine - Live, Exeter Phoenix 17th September, 2011 [Acoustica Weekend]

High Country Acoustica

I've been looking forward to this for a while, and it was an absolute joy to see Willy Vlautin and the band performing live last night. They were outstanding.

In the process of attending I realised what a RF groupie I am: I grabbed an armchair right at the front [a chair with arms, not like a livingroom lounger; at my age I hate standing and either lean against walls at concerts, get a seat if very lucky, or stand with pained legs - ahhhh], and at the end nabbed the set list and then went over to shake Vlautin's hand and thank him for such a great gig. Why not?

The band played most of The High Country and that in itself was fascinating. When I reviewed the album I did express wonder if it would be possible to deliver its storytelling and atmospheric rather than distinctive melodies live. The speculation is over, and to these ears the live performance actually enhanced the song cycle's immediacy and impact: Amy Boone from The Damnations TX performed the female persona - as well as other musical contributions throughout - and her physical presence and clear delivery brought that narrative alive for me [opener to album and performance Inventory was beautiful]. Indeed, I felt I 'heard' the narratives much more clearly in this live set, and not just because I had listened to the album, although the melodies too are now beginning to assert their individualities. The band performed 14 of the album's 17 tracks and it was perfectly gauged and played. The band was tight, and instrumentals an absolute knock-out: Wlly Vlautin, vocals and guitars; Dave Harding, bass and vocals; Sean Oldham, drums and vocals; Dan Eccles, electric guitar and steel; Amy Boone, as I've said, joining on vocals and keyboards. Eccles was on fine form and he wow wows his guitar with a bodily empathy.

My other favourites from the set list and additionals were Post To Wire and Polaroid, the latter sublime. They also rocked with a few punchy numbers and it is easy to get lost in Vlautin's narratives and forget what a consummate band they are. This is the first time I have seen them live and I am still exploring the albums so it's a brilliant journey begun - I also have Vlautin's third novel Lean on Pete yet to read. Paul Who Knows His Richmond Fontaine was there, and having introduced me to Post To Wire he has now introduced me to Winnemucca. I have listened once and will no doubt review later - there are some powerful instrumentals in addition to the stories - and an early favourite is Northline which became the title of Vlautin's second novel, and I am grateful for Paul's contribution to this wonderful discovering.