Tuesday 27 September 2022

Monday Night in a Record Shop with Beth Orton

 Music in shops should be a thing, a big thing. In my experience it is usually found in records shops and book shops (very few coffee shops for some reason).

Anyway, I digress. Monday night found me in Assai Records to see and hear the wonderful Beth Orton share some tracks from her new album 'Weather Alive'. The crowd file in packing themselves into the space after the scanning on tickets and the presentation of the appropriate vinyl or cd pre-ordered as part of the entry to this event. 


There is some gentle jockeying for better positions and folk behind me are probably saying 'got a tall bloke in front of me'. Then suddenly she's there in a faded denim jumpsuit beaming smile and curtain of fair hair. Beth is accompanied by a saxophone/flautist player for an intimate and affecting airing of four tracks from the new album. We hear 'Fractals', 'Friday Night', 'Forever Young' and 'Weather Alive' which is as good a snapshot of the new album as you can get. Beth plays keyboards, sings, whispers, speaks her way through these songs and the sax and flute are used to add colour and emphasis almost like another voice. These songs are impressionist paintings bursting through with colour and emotion creating moods and shades. The four songs done it's time for orderly queues, signing of appropriate merchandise and Monday night restaurant recommendations nearby.

I head out into the Edinburgh night effervescent with the music and the event. Music in record shops lets have more of that.  

No comments:

Post a Comment