London – Announced as the last leg of a short UK tour and the final one of the year, it was not surprising that the return of Gabby Young & Other Animals to a London stage took on something of a homecoming party. The English songstress appeared radiant, looking every inch the fairy on the Christmas tree, a snowflake-decked tiara lit up with tiny lights atop a silver hairpiece covering her trademark flame-coloured locks. Her dress was an explosion of silver-grey appliqué, satin and tulle. Surrounded by her six-piece band comprising violin, guitar, double bass, drums, keyboards and trumpet, the ensemble provided an imposing sight filling the compact Oslo stage.

Despite its Nordic name, Oslo is actually next to Hackney Central station in East London. The venue was in fact part of the old station. The upstairs music room is the usual rectangle of matte black hiding brick and breeze blocks but the sound system is something else and puts several other comparable London venues in the shade. Thursday night, there was plenty enough colour on stage to stop your eyes lingering on the decor. The music, and not least the entertainment, was everything. The skittish opening song, “In Your Head,” got the crowd swaying from the start, setting a frenetic tone with an energetic surge of big band gypsy swing.

Describing Gabby Young’s music presents a challenge beyond Roget’s Thesaurus. Capable of hosting the best party in town and equally reducing you to stilled silence when she delivers her more telling and tender songs, Young can call on a bewildering vocal mix of power and subtlety. Her intermittent operatic flourishes are particularly beguiling. Yet she is equally adept on guitar or ukulele, and even when wielding a small plastic trumpet. With her guitarist partner, the heavily bearded Stephen Ellis (who doubles as the lead singer of London collective, Revere) just as willing to whip up the crowd, it was not long before it is enrolled into call and response routines, and even parading around the room playing imaginary brass instruments during the frantic “I’ve Improved.”

It was an evening when both band and audience seemed to take on fuel from each other – the polar opposite of the sometimes polite reticence that both parties seem bound by at gigs. While the audience undoubtedly got off on the jazzy dance numbers, the evening was punctuated by pin-drop moments with “Male Version of Me” and “Fear Of Flying” two particular pinnacles. In the former, a first-person confessional, Young sang of the joy of finding a true soul mate: “I never taught you but you happen to be perfect for me.” The latter saw Young at her most affectionate, describing the song as a ‘joy to get you through hard times in your life.’ “Saviour,” performed as a trio with Ellis and violinist Milly McGregor alongside Young, provided another high point while “Segment” hit home as a simple song of love and loyalty building into an inspirational anthem with the repeated plea, “Save me a segment of your heart/ Just a small piece for me.”

Surrounded by family, friends and fans, this was the kind of evening to loosen inhibitions and put together an exhibition of dancing that easily becomes a YouTube classic. And that was just the audience. On stage there was a sense of theatre about the entire performance with band members interacting in flurries of good humour and camaraderie. Shoehorning 20 songs into the evening’s performance, the musical mix on stage took in everything from big-band jazz to opera, cabaret to folk, klezmer to bossa nova. For the first of three encores, Young came off stage to the centre of the room and got everyone to sit down while she delivered “Honey,” her vibrato rising from a quiet shimmer to an impassioned pitch-perfect power. The band returned for “We’re All In This Together,” the title track from its debut album and finally delivered “Ask You a Question.” The song might lean heavily on the Russian folk song, “Kalinka,” for its melody but I doubt if the Cossacks could inspire such a show of communal dancing.

Superficially, Gabby Young’s music is not what you might usually term commercial, but played out live it is compelling and wonderfully creative. Few will have seen a band and audience in greater consort than this. Bring on 2015.

Photo By Maja Smiejkowska

Set list:
In Your Head
Ladies Of The Lake
Ones That Got Away
Male Version Of Me
Another Ship
Walk Away
The Answer’s In The Question
I’ve Improved
Smile
Horatio
Fear Of Flying
One Foot In Front Of The Other
The Devil Has Moved In
Time
Saviour (Trio)
Segment
Open

Encore:
Honey
We’re All In This Together
Ask You A Question

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Tony Hardy

Tony Hardy lives in Kingston upon Thames, just south-west of London, England. His background is in sales and marketing, and today combines brand marketing with copywriting and music interests in his own business called Fifty3.

Tony’s great passion in life is music and nothing gives him more pleasure than unearthing good, original new music and championing independent musicians. His association with Best New Bands brings great opportunities for this. He also writes for Consequence of Sound and is a judge for Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition.

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