Priscilla Ahn + Jake Flowers @ Birmingham Glee Club – 30th April 2009
My first ever visit to the Glee Club and the first thing that strikes me is how small and intimate the studio is, so you’re really up close and personal to the artists. So when local Jake Flowers takes to the shoe box- sized stage armed with his acoustic guitar there really is no place to hide. As he picks at his strings you feel the calm descend on the room. Jake’s voice is soft and soothing, as soon as you hear it you’re swept away to English landscapes, straw bales basking in the late evening sun, the country pub in winter with a welcoming fire to the weary traveller [you get the picture]. “Footprints” and ”One For The Ditch” keep alive the tradition of folk song-writing and story telling handed down from one generation to the next.
After each song Jake laughs and jokes with the crowd. “Annabel” and “With You Now” are beautifully crafted songs that allow you to lose yourself in music and forget the so called depressing times ahead. The single “Small World” is a rather up beat track, then there’s “Fireworks” (a song about a truck full of fireworks that explodes), “One Summer Gone” and then the enchanting “My Siren”, all delivered with precision. So, if you see the name Jake Flowers in the months ahead be sure to give him a listen. I’m sure you wont be disappointed.
Next, fresh from her appearance on Later with Jools, is Priscilla Ahn and friend Gus Seyffert on guitar. The first thing shes asks us to do is “Give it up for Jake Flowers” and everyone in the room complies. From that moment on we are all at the mercy of Priscilla’s angelic voice as it soars, caresses and seduces. She breezes through ”Lullaby” (a song about a cop who shot a friend’s dog in the small town in which she grew up) and the gentle groove of “Wallflower” (about the fake people that you meet at Hollywood parties) and strikes up an amazing rapport with the audience, telling stories that allow the listener a brief glimpse into the world she sees around her.
Next up are ”Dream” and a cover of Benji Hughes’s “Masters Of China” before “Leave The Light On” (about the fear of being murdered as you leave the car and make your way to the front door). ”Yes I’ve got issues but I’ve had counselling now” she jokes. Before ”Opportunity To Cry“ by Willie Nelson she tells us that “once I heard this amazing song I had to play it”. Priscilla uses a loop effect on the microphone during long harmonies, giving her vocal an ethereal quality. This is most evident on “Weeping Willow” – a true masterpiece of song writing. When she sings the line “do you think I’m pretty? Sometimes I don’t even look at me” you get a glimpse of this fragile beauty’s way of thinking.
Half way through the set Gus leaves the room and we’re left all alone with Priscilla, but this didn’t matterone bit because the haunting quality of her vocals and her formidable phrasing, allowing you to escape in the beauty of the scene she is creating for you. “Living In A Tree” sums this up perfectly and of course “The Boob Song”, a song written about her boyfriend who whilst she was staying in his apartment when he was out of town she went snooping and found a letter from an ex—girlfriend in a book of poetry. To myself and the rest of the audience this was a set of pure escapism, delivered by an outstandingly talented artist.
Review and Photos – Ian Dunn
I think Priscilla is amazing, she’s my favourite artist right now and more than likely will be for the rest of my life. She’s simple yet so interesting, her songs touch me completely and totally… she’s the reason I started learning to play the GUITAR! lol =)