Tom McRae / Steve Reynolds

Tonight's support act, Canadian singer-songwriter and troubadour Steve Reynolds, gets to play to a packed venue. Everyone has filtered through from the bar already - perhaps because Reynolds was part of Tom McRae's recent "Artistes of the Hotel Café" tour and word has spread that he's worth watching. He doesn't disappoint and plays "alt folk" with fast-paced guitar and husky vocals. He borrows the bass guitarist and drummer from the main band to play on the last song 'Dear Rose', a track from his CD 'Exile' which a fair chunk of the audience are obviously familiar with.



I've been a fan of the main man, Tom McRae, since I saw him play amongst the books in Borders, Oxford Street when he was promoting his debut album and managed to cause a bit of a health and safety hazard with the escalators due to the huge crowd that had gathered! Over the course of 3 albums since then, he has gained a reputation for being all those "m" words - morose, melancholic and miserable and always had an axe to grind - the state of the music industry, environment issues, the war in Iraq, the UK government - he did have some valid points and always tempered these live with his self-effacing humour.



In more recent months, he has been based in New York and LA and perhaps the sunshine has had an effect - he seems more mellowed and we only get one brief rant tonight about cars, prompted by a line in a song. There also seems to be a rock star vibe going on, perhaps helped by the band, but it could just be the leather jacket and slightly overgrown hair. Anyway, the air of excitement and anticipation is heightened because this gig is showcasing songs from his fourth album, 'King of Cards', which is due out on 23rd April and the fans have been listening to the new tracks online since Friday.

The new material, which is very strong, is even better live. Tom's voice sounds great, though he's complaining of being hoarse (from too many 'phone calls to his MP!), and he is backed by an excellent tight band who are all notable musicians in their own right - John Hogg on bass, Ash Soans on drums, Olli Cunningham on keyboards and Oli Kraus who indulges in some frantic cello playing throughout the faster numbers. They open the set with the storming 'Bright Lights' which will be the first single from the album. It's a powerful and upbeat song and perhaps embodies a change of direction for Tom. Not that he needs a change of direction but this could be the album to "cross over" and become mainstream - it's certainly more instantly accessible than the previous albums.



Other new tracks showcased are the rocking 'Sound of the City', the slower-paced, heart wrenching 'Deliver Me', 'Houdini and the Girl', and the very catchy 'One Mississippi' (which ought to be a single). The crowd still want to hear the old favourites though, so that we can sing along and wallow in cynicism and bitterness together! So from the back catalogue, we're treated to 'You Cut her Hair' 'A & B Song', 'End of the World News' - "so dose me up, once is not enough, I can still see the ground, and from this high rise view, looking down on you, I'm not the one wasting my time."

He reserves the final new song which the audience have been shouting for, 'Got a Suitcase, Got Regrets', for the encore, an introspective, soulful number, and finishes with one of his most popular live tracks 'The Boy with the Bubblegun', which we all join in with - "if songs could kill, this one's for you".

Tom McRae plays another showcase gig at Cargo next Monday and then embarks on a tour of Europe. It’s a travesty that he’s been overlooked for so long but 'The King of Cards' could just be the album to change all that.

FUTURE GIGS