The lonesome twang of Rob Snarski’s guitar greets us as we descend the stairs of The Hi-Fi. Snarski is pleased that tonight provides him with the opportunity to perform with Dan Luscombe for the first time in three years. The duo create a mellow gently strummed vibe with their guitars as Snarski’s dulcet tones drift through bittersweet lyrics. Snarski’s songs are soft and delicate, awash with regret and slow motion heart break, resisting overt and clichéd sentimentality.
The only disappointment that tonight offers is the fact that the gig was downsized from the magnificent Greco-Roman surrounds of the Forum. Looking like a ’50s rocker in denim, leather and slicked back hair, Hawley starts the show with the driving Standing At The Sky’s Edge, the title song of his last album. Despite the wide eyed wonderment of its title and the hazy psychedelic guitars the tune comes with dark lyrics about violence in a council estate. In between songs Hawley maintains a humorously sarcastic tone. Don’t Stare At The Sun, for instance, he tells us is about flying a kite with his oldest son whilst off his head on acid. “Now that should make things more interesting,” laughs Hawley as they jump into producing a dreamy and almost cosmic psychedelic sound bathed in the glorious glow of his Rickenbacker 12 string and his deep and resonant baritone croon. Hawley’s and Shez Sheridan’s guitars lock into each other with a special emphasis on harmony and melody, such that there is a light almost fluid dynamic to the mesmerising sounds that ebb and flow into our ears. After telling us that his wife keeps us grounded, Hawley provides fascinating insights into his domestic life as he confesses to returning home from a three day bender only to be greeted by his irate wife and the artist Banksy on the phone asking to use Tonight The Streets Are Ours for his film.
Amusingly he confuses Banksy with Pulp drummer also known as Banksy and abruptly hangs up on him. It’s an amusing anecdote and a good introduction to the song which lightens the mood. The fine details of Soldier On are guaranteed to raise the hairs on the back of your neck before it escalates into a grand and epic crashing crescendo. It is easy to get lost in the lush velveteen guitar driven enfolds of Leave Your Body and Before. Later the darkly romantic Open Up Your Door and Remorse Code come with a certain sense of longing and nostalgia. The glitter and sparkle of the maddeningly beautiful Lady Solitude and the majestic sumptuous swirl of The Ocean for encores brings the night down on a breathtaking high. Effortlessly virtuoso, supremely eloquent and bristling with emotion, tonight’s show will live in the hearts and minds of the many rapturously swooning punters who rave about tonight’s gig as they depart The Hi-Fi.
BY THE SIDEMAN
LOVED: All those amazing looking guitars Hawley played.
HATED: Nothing to hate here.
DRANK: Water.
