BY LESLEY HASTINGS
Thursday night saw a second trip up the M40 for me within a couple of weeks to catch a gig at the wonderful Kitchen Garden Cafe in Kings Heath, Birmingham. The first was to catch Canada’s Jake Vaaderland before his C2C appearances but this time it was all about home grown talent , alt-country trio Red Sky July who were rounding off their first tour in quite some time following on from the recent release of their album “Misty Morning”.
As band member Shelly Poole mentioned at the end of the show, it really is important to support these independent venues which are sadly in decline for many reasons these days. But support was not an issue for this sold out show, the engaging and talented band have amassed a loyal fan base over the years, and although I usually catch their London gigs there were several familiar faces in the audience, some of whom had seen multiple shows on this tour and travelled a fair distance…..one such fan was “Lorraine” who was celebrating her birthday (yes, we sang to her) and who had picked her favourite RSJ song, “Already Gone“, for inclusion on the set list .
The intimate, all seated venue was perfect and the three musicians held us enraptured during their two sets….the aforementioned mentioned Shelly Poole (ex Alisha’s Attic) on vocals/percussion, her husband Ally Mcerlaine (ex Texas) on lead guitar (switching between acoustic and electric sometimes during a song, his solos were understated but always impressive) and Haley Glennie-Smith on acoustic guitar/vocals. As someone who is a massive fan of vocal harmonies, the two ladies were simply divine in that respect but both equally impressive on lead vocals. It was lovely to witness the close connection and humour between the three, as well as the mutual respect they showed for one another during the relaxed performance .
Obviously several songs from the aforementioned new album made the set list, including the title track which they opened with, but they had to be stripped right back from the multi-layered studio versions, something they apparently enjoy figuring out. Shelly produced the album, by the way, and the arrangements are stunning.
The gorgeous love songs “Stones and Brambles” and “Stars Turn Cold” were real goose-bump moments, and Hailey’s “love song to the city”, “Platform 5” (inspired by her view from Willesden Junction station as the dawn breaks) was a gem. Unrequited love wasn’t overlooked either in the form of the fabulous “Pool Party“, a favourite of mine from the album along with “Utah” which makes more sense now knowing it was inspired by a short story by Sam Shepard.
Their back catalogue was represented by Lorraine’s choice as already mentioned, but we also heard two tracks from their 2020 EP “Favourite Things” which as you may guess was a covers EP…..“Joe By The Book“, a charming Buck Meek song, the Joe in question being a trusty mechanic, and a more gentle, lilting version of Springsteen’s rock anthem “Dancing in the Dark” which had us all singing along.
Other songs getting the “RSJ treatment” were their interpretations of “Juanita” , the beautiful Spanish style ballad/love song composed by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, a perfect vehicle to showcase Shelly and Hailey’s harmonies, and the haunting “Blackhawk ” written by Daniel Lanois and most famously recorded by Emmylou Harris.
Closing the evening with another from the new album, the uplifting “Kings Of Better Things“, the band then thanked us all for coming and spending our hard earned money to support live music before also thanking the venue’s staff ….. the enthusiastic applause that followed left me in no doubt that all present had enjoyed their evening as much as I had, and into the chilly night I stepped with a full heart, ready to be reunited with the M40 ….another opportunity to listen to the album several times over as I wended my way home to Buckinghamshire!
Stream/Download ” Misty Morning ” here https://slinky.to/MistyMorningRSJ
More artist information here https://redskyjuly.co.uk/