Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Hackney Empire, London
Supremely confident set from the bear-fightin’ man - Gaelic jigs and all
Words Natalie Hardwick
Photography Sarah Dorman
In the wake of putting his 21st (yes, 21st) studio album to bed and announcing his ‘wacky’ pseudo-retirement plan of launching a personal coffee range, Will Oldham this week played his fifty millionth gig. OK, that bit’s a guess, but this guy has been around for donkey’s years and it shows. He treats a gig with the perfect level of nonchalance — supremely confident, but not yet jaded enough to be a grumpy old arse.
In fairness, Oldham’s shtick has long since been primarily along those lines. His huge back catalogue covers many, many pained bases, from romance to religion, being a man and fighting bears — to death, naturally — and all wrapped up in a ragged bow of Americana jangliness. Not one for your standard promotional tour, tonight he treats the audience to a lucky dip of prairie song.
In spite of this it’s ‘No Match’ — from recent release Wolfroy Goes To Town — which proves the absolute highlight of the show. He’s joined by his long-time collaborator, guitarist Emmett Kelly, and backing vocalist Angel Olsen throughout, but it’s on this particular track that the lush vocal harmonies truly crescendo, complimented by a woozy autoharp and not much else.
Kelly’s strokes are pastoral and jaunty, while Oldham’s style of vocals is to yelp with abandon, creating a beautifully bruised wail. Olsen has the warble of a country and western grand dame, and her controlled pitch is a sublime match to the lead act. A chunk of the set is made up of songs from 2008’s Lie Down In The Light. ‘You Want That Picture’ is down-tempo and romantic — close your eyes and you’re in a cot in Kentucky, gazing up at Oldham and Olsen as they rock you to sleep with a knowing smile [shudder — Ed].
‘Easy Does It’’s hayseed romp gives Oldham an excuse for some mild theatrics in the form of Gaelic foot stomps and a bit of wild gesturing, but he sticks with the warm-and-mellow vibes for the most part. The encore starts with ‘Merciless And Great’ from The Wonder Show Of The World, a delightfully eked-out ballad. It ends, rather delightfully, with a version of Richard Farina’s ‘Pack Up Your Sorrows’ (also covered by the late, great Johnny Cash), which offers some fine C&W barnstorming to close proceedings.
Oldham breezes through this gig much like he has his career — striking the odd chord of rapport, but mostly just sticking to his wonderfully offbeat script. Annoyingly effortless, really.
