We arrived at Undertone a little late, so subsequently missed the majority of the opening support, acoustic singer Jack Barnett, only catching the last few songs of his set. He did, however, sound very promising, so I hope to catch him again in the future and hear a full set from him.
Next up was The Callow Ones, who I’d heard many good things about, but had never got the chance to catch them live before now. It was the first gig that the band played with their new percussionist, Beverly Coats, but I wouldn’t have guessed – she seamlessly fit into the band and the songs sounded like she’d always been in the band. In fact, the entire band looked incredibly in-tune and at ease with one another as they played through their set of relaxed folk music, and I was particularly impressed with the way the two violins complemented each other. My only real complaint was singer Will Ibbetson’s lack of confidence when it came to interacting with the crowd, but that’s something that can only improve over time. Very promising stuff.
Headlining the gig was Northampton band My First Tooth, who were kicking off their tour promoting their new album, ‘Love Makes Monsters’. There was a lot of energy and movement onstage as they played through their set, and they put on a lively performance, with multi-instrumentalist Sophie Galpin frequently switching between violin, percussion and guitar, often mid-song! Whilst their music didn’t “strike” me as much as The Callow Ones did, it was clear that this was a band who were really passionate about what they were doing, which really counted for a lot, and the performance was very striking. Check them out on their UK tour if you get the chance!
7/10
