Many Times We've Shared Our Thoughts: Bonny 'Prince' Billy, Live in London

This little anecdote isn’t just worth mentioning due its being evidence of Oldham’s breezy ability to engage an audience even while he’s fucking up. It’s because it’s a wonderful example of how no two Bonnie 'Prince' Billy performances are ever alike. We heard the opening line of that song three times. And it was completely different each time. Three different licks of melody. Three different rhythms. Three different tones. Three different beginnings to (what would have been) three completely different songs.

The way in which Bonnie 'Prince' Billy allows his songs to evolve over time is one of his most enduring and endearing features, bringing back tracks from his past to re-record in fresh, surprising ways; transforming the dour "I See A Darkness" into a swinging, upbeat Western stomp a decade and a half later, for example. But this process doesn’t take years, and it isn’t confined to studio experiments. His songs mutate from moment to moment. It seems likely that he’s never played any of his songs the same way twice, even mere nights apart.

Tonight, alone on the stage of Union Chapel, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is free to take his songs and his set in whatever whimsical directions he fancies. Last time I saw him in London, he was accompanied by a full band, giving his songs an enjoyable heft and pep. But tonight is a treat of even richer proportions; showcasing his incredible voice to its fullest extent, and a sublime mastery over his material.

One of the things by which I’m most struck when seeing Oldham live is how terrific his singing voice is, as obvious a statement as that might seem. On record, his deliacy is deceiving, masking the true power of his vocal performance. Live, backed by nothing but a guitar, the command he has over his voice is magical, with highlights like "Omaha" (an Everly Brothers cover) seeing him swoop from falsetto to quivering whisper in the crack of a syllable, only to suddenly erupt into full force, stepping a few feet back from the mic to fill the church with the fullest expanse of his sound.

No two performances of any song are the same, and no two Bonnie 'Prince' Billy sets are the same either. You don’t go for the hits (although favourites are received rapturously) but with gratitude for whatever slew of covers and unexpected mid-album cuts with which he decides to delight you. It feels personal, intimate and direct. Tonight we get some Cohen, a few of his Merle Haggard numbers, alongside lovely outings from Lie Down In The Light, and Wolfroy Goes To Town. In short, we get Will Oldham: his voice, his obsessions, his spirit, and his songs.