Scott Matthews / Andy Gower

Andy Gower, guitarist-singer-songwriter, from Stoke-on-Trent, is Scott Matthews’ support for the first leg of this current tour and he’s joined by Craig Coda on guitar (which he plays with a bow at one point). Andy, sounding a bit like Billy Bragg, plays simple, strong songs with good hook-lines.

	This evening he is playing solo, an intimate gig with his guitars, harmonica, soft voice, romantic songs and self-effacing banter

Scott Matthews, hailing from Wolverhampton, is enjoying renewed success at the moment. His debut album, ‘Passing Stranger’, and the single ‘Elusive’, have recently been re-released following media interest and tonight’s London date is sold out, as are next week’s two consecutive nights at the Union Chapel in Islington. This evening he is playing solo, an “intimate” gig with his guitars, harmonica, soft voice, romantic songs and self-effacing banter.

Scott opens the set with the excellent ‘Wasp and the Jar’, the B-side from the current single. He is struggling with a cold and sniffing olbas oil during the performance but this doesn’t seem to effect his singing voice or ability to tell jokes! Musically, he is very reminiscent of Jeff Buckley, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind the comparison. This is particularly evident in the guitar sounds and voice intonations on ‘City Headache’, ‘Sweet Scented Figure’ and on his most well-known song ‘Elusive’.

Scott Matthews likes to talk to the audience. He entertains us with stories, random bluesy guitar riffs, snippets from ‘Back to the Future’ (dialogue and music), and musical interludes for ‘Friends’! This can be alternately endearing and slightly frustrating, especially as he’s softly spoken and it’s impossible to catch everything he says. The set is just over an hour and a half long but he only plays 10 songs during that time, which includes the encore, the lovely ‘Earth to Calm’.

It seems that Scott Matthews is torn between being a comedian-raconteur and a singer. I guess that most of the audience would hope he chooses the latter as he’s an exceptional guitarist and a very fine singer-songwriter. We need to hear more of those beautiful songs!

FUTURE GIGS