‘No Alcohol Allowed In Chapel’ scream the signs dotted around the Union Chapel. The mere thought of slyly sneaking a cheeky can of lager into the hallowed walls of Islington’s esteemed venue invokes furious images of Walter Donovan smuggling out the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade and causing the whole ruddy place to crumble in a pious wrath.
But, luckily for us – and Ben Kweller – that didn’t happen.
The icy chapel was eerily hushed. Punters took to their pews, refusing to remove their scarves until things hotted up. The surroundings were prettily decorated and lit to remind us of Jesus’ forthcoming birthday.
On stage walks our preacher man – Ben Kweller – accompanied by his friend and lap steel player, Kit Kitterman. The stage holds only a piano, some chairs and a microphone – it’s a big space to fill, but over the course of the night it’s vividly clear that the pair accomplished what nary a cleric could do today: captivating every soul under the roof.
As Kitterman sat caressing his steel guitar, Kweller pounded the front of the stage with his acoustic friend, starting the night off with a track from forthcoming album ‘Changing Horses’, ‘Wantin’ Her Again’, before older favourites ‘Run’ and ‘Family Tree’. During the latter, after a particularly delicious slide from Kit, Ben stumbles at the microphone: “I forgot the word there, cos that lick was so good,” he says, staring proudly at his partner.
Moving later to the piano, Kweller expertly balanced tender ballads with his more upbeat tunes – ‘Sha Sha’ and ‘Hospital Bed’ worked beside ‘Different But The Same’ and ‘Sawdust Man’, while between he mocked the sanctimonious surroundings with a brief excerpt of ‘Let It Be’.
A great cover of Neil Young’s ‘From Hank To Hendrix’ demonstrated how the great man should be performing these days instead of his preferred guitar onanism, while his interpretation of ‘Homeward Bound’ – written by friend Willy Mason’s parents, and the final track on the new album – was nothing short of gorgeous.
A surprise sparring of ‘Duelling Banjos’ between the two Texans incurred the first sign of movement from the enchanted London crowd, and found Ben back on the guitar, running through classic ‘On My Way’ and new barn-stormer ‘Fight’.
Returning for the encore, the first note of the intended song didn’t go down well with Kit, as his string broke upon plucking it, and he walked off stage while Ben moved on to the piano to cover for his friend. And I’m glad he did – for ‘Thirteen’ was to come next, and Ben’s magnificently romantic paean that never fails to move. The last song of the night, also the most awaited and best received, was ‘Penny On The Train Track’, which lost none of its vivacity or fun when stripped down to just two instruments.
Kweller is returning to these shores next May with his full band in tow, but somehow, after tonight’s performance, one feels that this intimate setting was a much better opportunity to see the real Ben Kweller – a glimpse into the bittersweet troubadour and the songs that make us love him.
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To read Clash’s interview with Ben Kweller, check out Issue 34 of Clash – on sale 8th January 2009. ‘Changing Horses’ is released in February.
Set List:
‘Wantin’ Her Again’
‘Run’
‘Family Tree’
‘Things I Like To Do’
‘Sha Sha’
‘Hospital Bed’
‘Different But The Same’
‘Sawdust Man’
‘From Hank To Hendrix’
‘Homeward Bound’
‘Living Life’
‘In Other Words’
‘Duelling Banjos’
‘On My Way’
‘Walk On Me’
‘Sundress’
‘Fight’
‘The Rules’
‘Thirteen’
‘Gypsy Rose’
‘Falling’
‘Penny On The Train Track’
