J. Tillman – Bush Hall, London 05/03/09

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Photographs by Sonny Malhotra

Ok, so you all know the deal by now: Josh Tillman is a bit of a genius when it comes to acoustic country folk, but what I bet you didn’t know was that his brother Zach is just as talented. As well as playing bass in Josh’s band, Zach fills the support slot tonight under the name Pearly Gate Music. Zach’s voice is as piercing and as powerful as his brother’s, and even though it was cold in that room, it was not the cold that caused my goose pimples when they played ‘I Woke Up’ together.

As Tillman and his band take to the stage Bush hall is packed, but it remains an intimate enough venue for banter back and forth between Tillman and the crowd: he kicks off his Crocs and goes barefooted whilst announcing: “My bare feet are less offensive than the shoes I chose to wear on tour!” The bass hums as they kick off the night with album opener ‘All You See’ and with Tillman’s bare foot pounding on the stage floor you can’t help but notice how beautifully raw and honest this music is. As they launch into the epic instrumentals of ‘No Occasion’ Tillman slaps the drum kit’s cymbals while Colin Walberg’s electric guitar grows more forceful and they crash into a heavy and dramatic ending, to a normally gentle song.

There is something so soft, yet so raw and powerful in Tillman’s echoing voice that you are almost powerless to not sing along, but looking around the room it seems that no one dares sing, they just mime for fear on drowning Tillman out. Before launching into the beautifully crafted and intensely personal tale of brotherhood ‘Vacilando Territory’ Tillman announces his recent realization that he is, unintentionally, a bit of sightseer. Having wondered around London all day despite being exhausted from his flight he tells everyone how much he loves old buildings, and claims “for me, its comparable to the first time I saw breasts!”

The Pedal Steel guitar, or what looks like a “futuristic spaceship”, slides us into ‘With Wolves’ as the guitar crackles sending shivers down everyone’s spine. After introducing the band Tillman realises that he is actually going to play a solo song next so everyone but drummer Jason Merculief disappear. ‘Vessels’ brings complete stillness and silence to Bush Hall, as the simplicity of Tillman’s lightly strummed guitar is hauntingly striking. The running bass line and high pitched howl of the electric guitar of ‘Labourless Land’ builds into ‘Barter Blues’ whose opening crashes down like rain on a stormy night. Bill Patton really takes his futuristic spaceship for a ride as Tillman hits his mic of the stand. While ‘An Occurrence at the River Jordon’ brings a haunting sadness to Tillman’s eyes, and the ever-religious lyrics begin to shake you to the bone. However, Tillman’s “alter-ego” takes over as he breaks out the tambourine and the maracas for ‘New Imperial Grand Blues,’ with its howling vocals, swinging rhythm and bluesy guitar melody.

There is so much more energy to Tillman’s music here than on record; the songs are almost transformed, and coming back to the albums afterwards brings a whole new love for Tillman’s own brand of acoustic folk.

Setlist:
All You See
No Occasion
Firstborn
Vacilando Territory
With Wolves
Vessels
Labourless Land
Barter Blues
New Imperial Grand Blues
Encore:
James Blues
Master’s House

Pearly Gate Music on MySpace
J. Tillman on MySpace

TLOBF caught up with Josh just before the show, read the interview in full here.