21 May 2016 (gig)
23 May 2016
The room upstairs at the Betsey Trotwood in London’s Clerkenwell is tiny but a very decent crowd was in to see a rare show by Southend’s own Matt Boulter and he played a set that suggested we really ought to see him more often.
Support from the excellent Mick Terry and a lovely set that was seemingly made up on the fly from Lucy Farrel set us up nicely for Boulter’s soft and sweet performance.
He paints pictures with his words that set you thinking and gives you images of fairgrounds and bleak landscapes that are three dimensional and relate to the experiences of us all.
Flanked by Paul Ambrose on double bass and Lizzy O’Connor on mandolin and various odd percussives his songs came to life even better than on his delightful recent album ‘The Water Or The Wave’ – possibly the intensity of live performance focused the songs.
As a solo performer Matt Boulter has all the attributes you could wish for – strong songs, a delightful voice and the ability to hold the audience tight in hhis grasp.
He is a terrific performer and if you have a chance to see him solo or with the Lucky Strikes then grab it.
