BY MICHAEL CHOWNE
A five-star show at The Bear Club, Luton, on Friday 5th June as Savannah Gardner and her super- talented and international band, The Recovering Good Girls, made a return to this cool venue, more than ably supported by British duo Elizabeth & Jameson.
Fresh from watching her Dad collect the Book of the Year at the True Crime Awards the previous evening (check out David Gardner’s ‘A Spy in the Family!), Savannah absolutely sizzled on stage, bringing the energy to this cozy club with a great vibe, and in front of a full crowd.
This is an artist to get to know immediately if you’ve not seen her before. American by birth and raised in California by her British parents (hence her dual US/UK nationality), Savannah has lived in the UK for 8 years now and has been steadily building her community in London and around the country.
She is no ordinary artist, an old soul who last night brought her unique brand of outlaw country, roots and soul to what she called ‘rootin’ tootin’ Luton’! Each member of her band, named after her superb debut album ‘Recovering Good Girl’ brings something different. There’s the super-cool and sultry Texan Riley Hare, whose bass guitar provides exactly what’s necessary, the Scottish fiddle (and whistling!) maestro, Dr Duncan Menzies and the smiliest drummer in the business, Carmen Ruiz Vicente from Spain. Carmen is the heartbeat to this band, crucially providing the tempo and rhythm, never overpowering the songs in a way that not all drummers can manage. (From time to time there are other iterations of the band too – if Riley can’t make it, Czech born Tomas Siroky provides the bass element in the form of a double bass, whilst singer-songwriter Holly Carter, living in Bristol, steps in sometimes to add her pedal steel and electric guitar). But last night was the most usual version of this superb band.
Despite the worthy attributes of the supporting cast, be in no doubt that the star here is Savannah herself. A true showgirl/entertainer/performer, Savannah lives for the dramatic moments and pauses. Her show is not just songs but the story of her life, expertly weaved, from epic trips across canyons far and wide in the family car stuffed with 3 children and a dog, to tales of loves lost and Savannah’s discovery of the music of the deep south that so influences her today. Throw in a cemetery in the desert, some driving cowboy (and cowgirl!) tunes and you have everything you need for a great night out.
A couple of well chosen covers but mostly original songs written through the eyes of a master storyteller. Just sublime! ‘Born in the Wrong Generation’ as an encore saw the crowd on their feet marvelling at what they had just witnessed!
Not to be outdone and maybe influenced by the soundcheck they’d earlier heard, Elizabeth & Jameson (Hannah Elizabeth from St Albans, Hertfordshire on fiddle and Griff Jameson from Ebbw Vale, Wales on acoustic guitar) also gave a stellar performance of mostly original music. Sounding beautiful together and individually, this engaging couple, who usually class themselves as folk-rock, sounded every bit like country artists to this country music fan. Look out for their future gigs – I’ll certainly be back for more.