Fyfe Dangerfield et Ed Harcourt

Despite the fact that Guillemots never quite capitalised on their potential to be come the next big thing - there was so much early promise on the likes of ‘Made Up Love Song #43’ and ‘Trains to Brazil’ - it apparently hasn’t stopped Fyfe Dangerfield from either working prodigiously with a slew of bands, or indeed from remaining a commercially-viable proposition in his own right; his debut solo album, Fly Yellow Moon, charted at number twelve in the UK, four years after Guillemots released their debut. Dangerfield himself had always popped up and played the odd solo show, usually consisting of stripped-back Guillemots takes, but this saw him step out under his own (superb) name for the first time. He played a run of intimate dates across the UK in support of the album; sharp-suited and switching between guitar and piano throughout, he ran through Guillemots favourites as well as most of Fly Yellow Moon, backed by a full band for most of the evening. He’s currently playing bass with Slow Club, so don’t expect fresh activity any time soon; when he’s off the road, though, he might return to his own work, with Guillemots apparently on the back burner for the time being.

Regarded as something of an institution by his considerable, dedicated fanbase (people of refined taste, one and all), the once Mercury Prize-nominated Ed Harcourt is a man of many talents. Of course, the most obvious of these are displayed across his burgeoning back catalogue of records; that soulful yet deeply weary voice, his Waitsian way around the keys of a piano, his mastery of melancholic and life-affirming melody. But that only tells half the story when it comes to his equally impressive live sets. Harcourt, far from the being the character of the downtrodden troubadour that’s so often centre stage in his songs, is both a wild partier and formidable comedian on stage, often taking breaks to indulge in a brief tipple or conversation with individual audience members that can soon have an entire room in stitches. It can be a little unnerving even to one witnessing his shtick for the first time, but it soon becomes part of what makes Harcourt brilliant – he gives you his heart and soul in his music, but to truly witness his whole, rounded personality, you need the wit and danger that comes with watching him run through those songs while in the very same room.