review

Perched on a stool in jeans and a fleece at the intimate Islington Bar Academy, Ben Taylor introduces himself to the surprisingly antique audience who fill the venue this evening.  As his deep American drawl spills out, silence creeps over the crowd who hush each other intently; some even angrily grunt at nearby patrons who continue their chatter!  Whilst the atmosphere resembles a library, our heavy-jawed entertainer of this evening is bringing smiles to faces with his witty ‘I Just Wanna Have My Wicked Way With You’.

Accompanied by a percussionist and second guitarist/vocalist onstage, Taylor chats to the audience. “You can buy my CDs,” he grins.  “And I’ve heard that a signed copy sounds better. But then you won’t realise how much better it sounds unless you heard the unsigned copy. So you may need to buy two!” The audience enthusiastically cheers his humour.  “But I don’t have a signed copy, so I can’t tell you how much better it sounds!” 

A cover of Portishead’s ‘Glory Box’ goes down a treat, whilst a quick jam of an Amy Winehouse hit also pulls in the applause.  His acoustic songs are well-penned and enjoyable, but somewhat monotonous after a short while, although his wit certainly counters that. One woman heckles “We love you Ben!” to which the singer-songwriter retorts “And I love you too…  But I do feel the need to see other people!” 

Taylor has won over tonight’s crowd but with the wealth of artists of his ilk already in the charts, it’s hard to believe he could possibly stand out from the fierce competition…

Read more Ben Taylor reviews

Manchester
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http://bentaylormusic.com

By Rachael Dallimore, MyVillage, 12th February