Willy Mason / Sam Airey

This venue on the corner of a turn off of Sheffield's ring road is one I have never ventured to before, as my navigation of this South Yorkshire city always leaves me in a tizz. However it is easy to find and a lovely little alternative to the usual city centre music venues. Small and compact but set out well, you can just about see the stage, handy for sold out gigs like this one tonight. I caught Sam Airey when he supported Willy at his show at Wakefield's Hop. The Leeds lad has a lovely voice and plays floaty and catchy guitar melodies. It took a week for me to get a song of his out of my head, and now it's stuck in there again… Turns out its new single 'The Blackout'.



Many folk are chatting away through his set, getting merry for Willy's stage time, but most are absorbing Sam's folk beauties. He's joined by a cello player (I didn't catch her name. The lighting is so dark in here the poor lass is sat in the dark) who adds a brooding depth to Sam's songs. Highly recommended.

Time for the highly anticipated return of Willy Mason to Sheffield. This tour is organised by himself and is selling out small venues in between festival dates at Shambala, Bestival and Moseley to name a few. There is no brother Sam on this tour, although the festival dates may feature a full band.

It's a bit cramped to see the stage but we all manage. Willy is on fine form, joking with the young crowd. His set is full of a mixture of new songs, a cover of an old song about someone compared to a "slow boat" and a cover of his parents' song, plus a welcome return to lots of his old material, which I haven't heard at his past few shows. He jokes that it's a greatest hits tour, which the crowd love.



The set up is simple, a single small amp and microphone, and Willy and his fine looking black and chrome Gretsch. He starts with 'Gotta Keep Movin'', notably his first track on his first album 'Where The Humans Eat'. The title track is played later on, with the crowd shouting "Me!" when the time arises. It is also dedicated to his family cat that died recently.

Following the first track are 'Hard Hand To Hold' and 'So Long', both sing a long tracks. His parents' song is a great traditional folk song called 'Waiter At The Station'; you can just imagine it being sung on a porch or around a campfire.

Tracks that have been around for ages but are not on a album or EP (except for live versions) are 'Into Tomorrow', 'Live It Up' and 'Pickup Truck', and I believe 'The Way To Go Home', 'What Is This' and 'I Got Gold' are new tracks from EP 'Live At The Grange Hall'. 'Oxygen' has an early airing midway through the set, which is better in my opinion than leaving it until the end, as you can see the true fans sticking about throughout, and not just singing along to this track that made Willy famous. We know he has better songs…

'Our Town' is a great tune to hear about being arrested in New York in the wrong place and the wrong time, with its well known prison food line "I've got some white bread, some cheese spread and some mayonnaise." The second half of the set features more tracks like 'Keep Walking' and When The River Moves On' and from second album 'If The Ocean Gets Rough', plus 'Carry On' (about a moth in a lamp) and 'I Wish I Knew You To Say Goodbye' from the last EP 'So Long Baby Shoes'. 'We Can Be Strong' shows Willy can force that deep voice into the high notes in the chorus when he wants to.



The show goes on over half an hour longer than it's meant to, with Willy and the crowd having too much fun to quit, even though the venue is quite stuffy. He is taking requests so the set list below may be jumbled, and despite forgetting a few of the words to the older tracks (he apologises but nobody cares about the mistakes at all, it merely adds to the charm) the show is one of the best ones I have seen him do. Roll on Bestival.

Gotta Keep Movin'
Hard Hand To Hold
So Long
Waiter At The Station
I Got Gold
Sophie
Where The Humans Eat
Into Tomorrow
Live It Up
Pick Up Truck
Oxegen
Our Town
The Way To Go Home
When The Leaves Have Fallen

Carry On
Keep Walking
Fear No Pain
What Is This
We Can Be Strong
When The River Moves On
Save Myself
I Wish I Knew You To Say Goodbye

FUTURE GIGS