Andy Needham [Live] @ The Roadhouse, Manchester

The Roadhouse, Manchester, February 2009

March 22, 2009, 12:06 PM

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Manchester has always been a city that has thrived on new music and at present this is not different. There is currently an abundance of new music which the is turning the city into almost a creative music factory as the city gives birth to many talented young artists and bands of different genres, be it indie bands, rock bands, electro-indie bands and electric folk artists. Not forgetting of course those all-important acoustic folk pioneers which provide a back drop soundtrack to the suburban adventures found in Manchester. I’m talking about those artists like Liam Frost, Stephen Fretwell, Kathryn Edwards, Lazybones and of course the talented young Andy Needham.
You may or may not have heard the name Andy Needham, but that doesn’t matter now as you’re reading this. Andy Needham is a young man, a modern day poet, penning his meanderings and life experiences and weaving them into simply warm acoustic folks songs.

His songs are a deep and accurate depiction of both those wonderful daily life occurrences as well as those hard life-learning reevaluating times, which cut close to the heart. His songs are bestowed with so much emotion and honesty that when listening to his songs one would not be unusual to perhaps shed a tear at times, but equally you can listen to another of his songs and they will instantly have you smiling brighter than a Cheshire cat who found all the clotted cream.

His music is simply beautifully genuine and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, the same feeling you get when you’re spending time with your partner early on in a relationship and you start to realize that you’re falling in love with them, you know, that ‘special moment’, that’s the feeling Andy’s music gives you. It’s the butterflies in your stomach feeling.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to catch the young Andy Needham live in Manchester recently at one of Manchester most prestigious venues, The Roadhouse. This venue has seen just about all the great bands in its time and witnessing Andy Needham play a gig here with his mightily infectious blend of acoustic-folk was an enlightening experiences.

Having spent a lot of my time at this venue listening to loud whaling guitars and screaming vocalists, this time was quite different. For a start Andy was playing acoustically and what struck me was the how quiet the crowd were, listening to each and every lyric with definite awe. The crowd were engrossed whilst Andy played, it didn’t seem like a gig, but more like a collection of your good friends listening to a great folk artists in the making. It was a truly intimate occasion, in the same way it is when it’s just you and your partner. This made it very special and you could quite easily be forgiven for thinking that this was a secret gig of a well-known folk artists, when in fact it was a gig for a very much ‘watch this one’ artist.

Andy played for about 30 minutes and throughout the whole of his set the crowd just lapped up his music as if he were Dylan’s protégée. Perhaps there is something he’s not sharing with us here?!! I’ve never seen a crowd so polite and hooked onto each lyric as they floated into the microphone. It’s no wonder though, playing tracks like ‘Upon a Hill’, ‘Hurray’ and ‘Brewing Smile’, they are well put together and possess much charm, just like Andy really. He finished his set with ‘Come Back Love’ which at times is quite a fragile song, extremely moving and cemented with sweet tenderness whilst his last song ‘Listen to Elizabeth’ is more up-tempo and benefits from some incredible harmonica playing that adds another dimension to the song and Andy’s ‘sound’ as a whole.

Both ‘Come Back Love’ and ‘Listen To Elizabeth’ were my favoured songs, with the exception of ‘Brewing Smile’ which is just delightful yet humbly moving, it has at times a slight bluesy edge which works perfectly.

In all this was a fantastic gig, one that I will remember for many reasons, but mainly because when I think about this gig, it just warms my heart. Andy is at the start of his career, but you can be sure that in the coming weeks, months, years we will be sure to hear more about of him and his delicate, soulful, charming music.

You can keep up to speed with Andy Needham’s gigs and new material at:

Andy Needham on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

keep checking the website regularly as he is soon to not just be Manchester’s best kept secret, but he’ll be your city’s too.

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