Camden’s Purple Turtle, usually host to much heavier music than this evening and sporting a fresh lick of paint, sees a four strong acoustic line up featuring a special one off from Valencia frontman Shane Henderson.
First up though, Valencia touring guitarist Trevor Leonard, as TRIANGLE SHIRT FACTORY [7], kicks things off as people shuffle in, and plays a lyrically intense set to an attentive crowd.
Secondly, on his first trip down south since his Punktastic stage appearance at Slam Dunk Hatfield, JIMMY HOLLAND [7] guides the audience through a slightly raspy set of his best. Always capable of putting a smile on your face, he’s one of most interesting acoustic singer/songwriters in the UK right now.
Talking of interesting singer/songwriters, playing his first show since dropping the Lost On Campus moniker, ROB LYNCH [9] takes to the stage and “gives it 110%”. The new EP tracks sound absolutely brilliant live, and by the time ubiquitous closer ‘My Friends And I’ arrives, there’s little doubt that his game is well and truly upped at the moment.
Finally, playing his one and only show under the PROMISE OF REDEMPTION [8] banner at the tail end of the Valencia UK tour, Shane Henderson plays a meandering and lengthy set made largely of his own material, but throwing in a Get Up Kids cover and some Valencia tracks for good measure. He largely has the crowd transfixed, and it’s a wonderful end to an evening of excellent acoustic music tucked away in Camden town.
TOM AYLOTT