The Barr Brothers + Michael King @ Hare and Hounds, Birmingham – 29th October 2014
From the moment I entered the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath, I guessed it was going to be a busy gig. The Sold Out signs at the bottom of the stairs confirmed this so it seemed that a lot of people had turned out to see The Barr Brothers play tonight. The Barr Brothers are a Canadian folk rock band (and I use the term folk rock loosely) all the way over from Montreal and this is their first trip back to Birmingham since going down a storm at The Moseley Folk Festival last year.
This was to be the last night of the UK leg of their tour and comes after the release of their second album Sleeping Operator. Back in their hometown of Montreal they are used to playing much bigger venues and, having played to 30,000 people at the Montreal Jazz Festival earlier in the year, I was interested to see what they would have in store for tonight’s relatively small crowd.
They opened the show with Old Mythologies a song played almost entirely by front man Brad Barr with his acoustic guitar and harmonica. Following this though it became quite clear very quickly that the band are a group of very talented multi-instrumentalists. They continued the set with few of their more acoustic sounding songs, mixing it up and playing tracks from both albums. Despite it being a sell-out audience, the crowd seemed really reserved and coupled with the fact that the band appeared tired, there seemed to be a disconnection between the band and the crowd that had turned out to see them tonight and there was very little interaction from the band aside from the odd thank you after each song.
About half way through the evening came a little banter from Brad, commenting on how he thought people were leaving before realising that the door beside the stage was the only way to restrooms! This engaged the audience a little before the band went into ‘Half Crazy’ and this seemed to breathe a little more life into the room with everyone appreciating the bigger riffs that came with it.
A few songs later and How The Heroine Dies was probably the high point for me, with its delicate harp melodies and smooth vocal harmonies, the entire room stood still and soaked it all up.
After their “final” song, the band left the stage and headed out of the door, after a little clapping and cheering from the room, they reappeared for an encore. The final song of the night was England, which we were told is about our ancestors. I quite liked that they had put the thought into that.
If I’m honest, I’d never heard of The Barr Brothers up until two weeks ago and after listening to both of their albums, it’s safe to say that I’m a fan. Their second album, Sleeping Operator, shows what a fine group of musicians they are and has a unique progressive folk sound that I challenge anyone to dislike. I wholeheartedly recommend that you give it a listen.
I’d really like to see these guys at one of their bigger hometown gigs though, as tonight’s show seemed to lack the atmosphere that I’d liked to have seen. A little more interaction from the band earlier in the night and maybe an audience who were a bit more up for it may have helped. There is no doubt that The Barr Brothers are a great band with some great songs and possibly have the only drummer that uses a bicycle wheel as an instrument!
A nod also goes to the support act Michael King, whose stripped down acoustic set was the perfect warm up for The Barr Brothers, in the Hare and Hounds back room tonight. The Birmingham based singer/songwriter and member of local band Boat To Row, treated us to both old and new material with one song having been written just a few nights before. The room clearly enjoyed listening to just his guitar and smooth vocals.
Words and Photographs: John Dent