Gig reviews

Breathing Space 

The Snooty Fox Wakefield 1st July 2007

Set List: Forgive Or Surrender, Feeling Good, Rain Song, Hollow, Wasted All The Time, No Promises, Time Tells All The Unknown, Autumn Leaves, Coming Up For Air, On The Blue Horizon, You Still Linger.

Encore: When I Hold On To You.

The Shire Hall, Howden 14th July 2007

First Set: Time Tells, Wasted All The Time, On The Blue Horizon, Coming Up For Air, No Promises, I’ve Been Thinking, Feeling Good, Rain Song.
Set 2; Forgive Or Surrender, Hollow, Autumn Leaves, Heartbreaker, Belief, You Still Linger, Coming Up For Air (reprise).

Encore: When I Hold On To You.

Breathing Space once again added to what is becoming an increasing list of better and better shows since that first show around a year ago now. 
Again the chief disappointment was the largely absent faces that put such an effort in to see MA over the previous two nights that I guess would have been here if this had been a third consecutive gig featuring Bryan, Heather et al.
I know what people will say, namely Breathing Space in a pub on a Sunday night with pockets depleted from the weekend and work the next day is not what we would favour and on the face of it that is what this show appeared to be. 
However, appearances can be deceptive.
On arriving it did appear at first glance that the Snooty Fox is just a pub with a stage. Another look taking in the stacked floor to ceiling PA system and the array of lights that would have done justice to a much larger venue told you that there was much more to this place than it would seem.
That’s not all though and that brings us to the real reason for Breathing Space playing here tonight. On the stage there are 8 remote cameras and throughout the performance they are augmented by two men with hand-held cameras and together they film the entire concert under the control of a man at the desk and this is edited on the night so the band have a high quality DVD of the show for their use.
I have to mention the support band the Neumes. Consisting of 3 young sisters with two more experienced (yes, I know that’s a euphemism for older) musicians on bass and keyboards with one girl on drums, a second on backing vocals, guitar and trumpet, not at the same time I may add, they played a set of jazz/folk which was all their own songs with the exception of an interpretation of Van Morrison’s moon-dance.
The playing was excellent but it is singer/saxophonist Charlotte Harding who carries the show. Tiny, she nevertheless has a tremendous charisma and stage presence that belies her slight stature and very young age. Listening to them you thought of the Corrs with brass instruments. They were really quite excellent and the 40-minute set flew by and only time constraints stopped them from playing a much deserved encore. Impressive given the audience is largely steeped in rock music.
Further information can be found at www.myspace.com/bandtheneumes  
 
Over the last year Breathing Space has become a very impressive live band. The way the music has expanded has been self evident with every show and there is no better example than the main set closer You still linger which now runs at over 10 minutes.
The cover versions are largely disappearing to be replaced by material likely to appear on the soon to be recorded second album. The Rain song and Coming up for air have been heard before but on the blue horizon is new and it is excellent. Coming up for air is one of those songs more driven by guitar but with an anthem quality about it that should see it becoming one of the pieces of music that the set is built around. If all those three are typical of the new record then the first album by Breathing Space the band should be even better than its predecessor with more writers joining Iain’s considerable talents.
Written by guitarist Mark Rowen with lyrics by Olivia this piece is written about those we have lost looking down on us. More cheery stuff from the ranks then!!!!! 
The thing that has begun to really show over the last few weeks is that Mark is coming more to the for-front now making a good trio with Iain and Olivia who continues to be the focal point in concert.
The guys at the back provide an excellent rhythm section with new drummer Barry settling in nicely.
The band are working well together and the next few weeks will see them in the studio recording that second album and tonight’s great show is hopefully to form the basis of a DVD release so there is plenty to look forward to and hopefully a wider tour that tempts more of you out to see them.
Howden provided another trip to a Yorkshire market town, which seems to have been the way of things with breathing space so far and this time I did get some of my wish as a few more regular MA fans joined what was a healthy turn-out of local people for this gig.
It was also great to see Bryan, Jean, the Judge, Heather and Angela at the show which, in spite of an annoying buzzing from the lights, was a super concert and also one of those excellent social nights that we have become used to with friends.
This was a better concert than Wakefield as breathing space did the full set once again split into two so the cover versions included would have given those new to the band something familiar to listen to as well as judging for themselves how good the bands own music stands up against them. Pretty well would be the answer.
Paul Turner 

MA Spring Tour 2007 & Murrayfield reviews