First time at The Fleece in Bristol, a pretty legendary
gig venue by all accounts, and it has that nicely lived in feel of a place that’s
seen more than its fair share of blood, sweat, beers and, quite possibly, many other fluids over the years.
Despite being a young ‘un (hell, most people are young
un’s compared to me these days) opening act, Truman Sinclair’s clearly experienced his
fair share of life’s ups and downs too, all documented in a fine selection of songs
sung with the kind of passion and feel that would send AI into a meltdown if it
tried to recreate it. A Dylan for the 21st Century? Could be…
Tyler Boardgame’s rise continues and tonight’s show
sold out months ago with a bigger tour and a return to Brizzle already in place
for later this year. With a voice like Presley, Orbison and Nilsson’s lovechild
Tyler and band delivered the kind of spotlessly polished set that you’d expect
from a collective on its 21st anniversary tour. The hits (well, they deserved to be hits in my book) hit all the
feels (as those young ‘un’s might put it) but the highlight for me was an
inspired ‘where the hell did that come from?!’ cover of Can’s Vitamin C, which perhaps
points to a slightly more experimental direction for Boardgame’s next move.
