Review: Ben Howard + Willy Mason @ Cardiff Uni
S?n Presents Ben Howard + Willy Mason
Sunday 4th November 2012
The Great Hall, Cardiff University
With his gentle melodies, sing-along lyrics and surfer good looks, Ben Howard had charmed his way into hearts of acoustic pop fans across the country. One of the UK's most popular singer songwriters and nominated for this year's Mercury Prize for acclaimed debut album Every Kingdom, he played to a sold out Great Hall on the third date of an extensive European tour.
I was very pleased to see Willy Mason announced as the support act but surprised nonetheless; with two quality albums under his belt and a third to come, the American is a much more established artist; even Ben mumbled that it was "weird" to have him under him on the bill, but that's instant popularity for you. While the headliner sings on more chart friendly themes - love, loss, etc. - Willy delivers world-weary and philosophical lyrics that question and probe our modern existence.
Not then perhaps suitable for a tittering crowd of Radio 1 enthusiasts, two of which were playing YouTube videos whilst Willy deconstructed, among other things, a flawed education system with We Can Be Strong. "You can't sell me tomorrow," he growls and we are reminded, or at least those who aren't giggling at a parody of Gangnam Style on their phone, of the shocking expense of higher education here and in the US.
Playing alone with an electric or with another guitarist to "help out on some picking", he played a short set of material old and new. "This next song's about my two late cats... and also American foreign policy," he laughs and introduces Where The Humans Eat; whilst new song I Got Gold began "I haven't got a pick up truck to take me into town," and danced into a country-blues chorus.
Early hit Oxygen closes a thought-provoking start to the evening from an insightful 27-year-old who has plenty to say and the means to say it.
After the 16-year-old girls at the front had stopped screaming, Ben Howard then opened with a new song of his own, from soon to be released Burgh Island EP. Lit dramatically with a few spotlights, the track marked a (slightly) moodier departure from his previous work and set the scene for a performance that sat between the beguilingly beautiful and the ever-so-slightly boring. Leading the crowd in a falsetto howl, The Wolves showed Ben and his band at their best and it built to a rousing up-tempo finish. Phones were out for single Only Love'; a catchy hook and romantic lyrics; another hit with our in-house little miss sunshines, while The Fear burst into a welcomed rocked up crescendo that epitomised the sea-inspired soundscape that is noticeable on the record. As Ben jumped back into the self-liberating lines of the chorus there was visible joy across his face and across mine.
However, more often intricate and subtle, Howard's intimate sound didn't always sit well in the large venue and his frankly unintelligible between-song chatter seemed to create further distance. A glimmer of personality was shown with a tale of his band's "big p*** up in Narberth" on their the last visit to Wales but he would have left a much bigger impact if his stage presence was as strong as his song-writing.
IMAGE: Braden F
