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It’s hard to describe a John Butler Trio show without sounding like you’re making it up. The trouble is, a JBT gig is not just a gig, but an experience for both the ears and the soul.
Hailing from the Isle of Lewis, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, accompanied by a cellist with a glass of red in hand (who also added female vocals to the mix), warmed the audience with witty banter and an atmospheric folk / acoustic set.
Although it is difficult to hear such an act over the crowd in such a large venue, what did come through was a rich mixture of organic harmonies, slow soothing cello sweeps and fanatical fingerpicking leading into more aggressive acoustic guitar rattlings.
With references to the romantic isolation of the Isle of Lewis and the ethos “Drinking wine and playing guitar; there’s nothing better”, the listener is drawn into his world.
John Butler Trio appear to be rallying support and fans by the bucketload as tonight sees them perform to a packed out manchester academy.
They greet the crowd with enthusiasm for sure, but for the first few tracks there is a surprising lack of crowd interaction.
Three songs down JBT break into a funk skiffle and the Banjo blasts through as they break into the chilled out Better Than. At this the antipodean funksters are really flowing in unison through funky beats and groovy bass licks.
A few more songs in and frontman John Butler takes the mic to offer his thoughts on politicians . . . which is basically that they are useless. This is arguably something we already know and is said frequently by musicians, but he also makes the point that it’s up to you to make a change and he sounds like he means it.
The new line up by now have built up momentum and after a brief acknowledgement from their frontman that for the past several songs he’s been ‘spaced out’, they take it up a notch.
Here’s the John Butler Trio we all know and love; flying off on instrumental journeys and providing spiritual intros and extending outros as they see fit.
Throughout the near 2 hour performance there were some fantastically exciting solo performances from all members; a favourite coming from the pounding rhythms of sticksman Nicky Bomba who gets the crowd chanting Boom Shakalaka – a forgotten weapon of music lost in the 90’s.
You can”t help but get caught up in the dancing mood of the room. The band are so passionate about the music, lyrics and message of peace that this spreads through the audience infectiously from person to person.
I defy you to walk away from the show without the grin of a 5 year old who has just been entrusted to buy his own sweets for the first time.
John butler Trio’s new album April Uprising is out now: http://bit.ly/99ggjT