Friday 27th February 2009 @ Fiddlers, Bristol
With Support From: Luke Ritchie, Don Sinnott

I walk into Fiddlers tonight to the sound of one man and his guitar; Luke Ritchie. I’m reminded of a very special opportunity I once had to see Pete Murray play an acoustic set, and this is how I will remember Luke tonight, as the rare opportunity I got to see him in all his humble and pure glory. The set is complete, the crowd ask for more, he gives us more – he is a performer, in the truest sense tonight and it adds something special to the atmosphere.

Next up it’s Don Sinnott and I can’t help but spend the entire set trying to figure out which Brit-pop band they remind me of – and the best I can do is a Silk Cut version of Supergrass, which takes me back and actually sounds much meaner than it is meant to. They have the room moving and they give off the feeling that they could rock out at any minute but I guess that’s just it, I’m left wanting something more and before you know it, the set is finished.

Then ‘she’ starts Don’t Say A Word…and the room shuts the fuck up to hear one of the best voices we could probably cite. Phantom Limb, as you will remember from my album review, should be played out loud and I am not disappointed tonight. The double bass looms delicately next to the voice and in a weird way, it’s all a bit like baking, where timing is everything, and they have it licked.

I genuinely hope this band get to play to thousands in their time, but I hope they don’t lose this intimate appeal. A few songs in and we’re all hooked, captivated by the performance and I can’t believe what I am seeing – Yolanda is absorbed in every note she sings and at the end of each song, you can see she has to physically remind herself where she is, re-enter the stage and prepare for the next song. “This singing really takes it out of you, you know, it’s not just about opening your mouth”, au contraire Yolanda, we are not convinced: the girl just opens her mouth and Heaven flows out. There are no stage dramatics, the band are doing what they were each born to do and it is as natural the leaves on the trees.

We are graced with some new material and then Good Fortune, one of my album favourites. Soon I stop being able to tell which song is which I am so caught up in this experience. I haven’t seen anything like this for a long time and I’m sad that half way through the set the crowd seem to be taking this for granted. Phantom Limb delivered the magic for me that I suspected they would when I first played their album last autumn. I said it back then when I talked about this band and I say it now with conviction; get the album, go and see this band and welcome them to into your life.

www.phantomlimbmusic.com

Becky Midgley