Rai Waddingham/Andy Wales/Evan & Si Ball

RAI WADDINGHAM/ANDY WALES/EVAN & SI BALL

Duffys 14th October 2024

Another really enjoyable evening at SoundHive Social last night.... i fear i was late discovering these events but have loved every one i have been to... lovely friendly atmosphere, quality music and always good to see a host of local musicians in to support local music...

Last night started with a relatively short set by Evan and Si Ball... new name to me and i believe one of their first ever performances. I did feel for them due to being plagued by a series of very loud and unwanted interruptions and disturbances, however they carried on with ease. Good to see Chris firmly and calmly show the offending couple the door.. .and encouraging them firmly through it!

As for the duo... i think it fair to say they are not the finished article and nerves also played a part... but the potential is immense. Evan has a really great voice and sings well, and the original songs were pretty good... though they started with a really fine soulful performance of "House of the Rising Sun". I felt a little more rehearsal would have been beneficial, but that is nit-picking... with Evan's voice the potential is there for something very special... hope to see them again after a bit more experience... this may have been the start of something big.

ShAnother really enjoyable evening at SoundHive Social last night.... i fear i was late discovering these events but have loved every one i have been to... lovely friendly atmosphere, quality music and always good to see a host of local musicians in to support local music...Last night started with a relatively short set by Evan and Si Ball... new name to me and i believe one of their first ever performances. I did feel for them due to being plagued by a series of very loud and unwanted interruptions and disturbances, however they carried on with ease. Good to see Chris firmly and calmly show the offending couple the door.. .and encouraging them firmly through it! As for the duo... i think it fair to say they are not the finished article and nerves also played a part... but the potential is immense. Evan has a really great voice and sings well, and the original songs were pretty good... though they started with a really fine soulful performance of "House of the Rising Sun". I felt a little more rehearsal would have been beneficial, but that is nit-picking... with Evan's voice the potential is there for something very special... hope to see them again after a bit more experience... this may have been the start of something big.

Next up was Andy Wales... I had seen Andy and his band play a storming set elsewhere a couple of weeks earlier and was looking forward to seeing an acoustic solo Andy... and he didn't disappoint. He seemed a bit nervous about it before hand but soon relaxed into what was a very fine and accomplished performance. The guitar work, it goes without saying, was exceptional throughout and the solo setting showed a real warmth in his voice and singing. Concentrating on his own songs written throughout his career, he also demonstrated he is no slouch as a songwriter.

For the last few songs he was joined by David Dhonau playing some lovely cello and making an absolutely delightful accompaniement to Andy's great performance.

The one cover Andy played was the Beach Boys "God Only Knows" (surely the original is as close as you get to a perfect record?). I dont recall ever hearing it covered before and Andy made a superb job of it...

I love his band... but this was terrific... hope we have a chance to see more of solo Andy

Finally, another new name to me, Rai Waddingham... and what a revelation... starting acapella, her voice just nailed the audience to their seats and was the only sound in the room... the rest of the set was accompanied by her own subtle delicate guitar playing which perfectly complements her sensitive soul-searching lyrics. The songs are all of a personal nature, well crafted and delivered in a glorious voice... her diction spot on maximising the impact of her songs... simply magnificent performance topping off a really great evening...

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