Arriving to the strains of Nick Cave’s ‘Red Right Hand’, Louis Berry swaggered on stage with all the strut of a modern day Peaky Blinder.
On Wednesday night he was supporting Sunset Sons as they promote their debut album so, unlike the last time I saw him at the Old Blue Last, he was essentially performing to a lot of people waiting for the main act. For me, having seen the main act three times in the last year, seeing Louis Berry in London was the main reason I bought tickets.
I’ve reviewed Louis before so it’s difficult not to repeat myself but I can’t recommend this guy highly enough. Like early Johnny Cash he sings perfectly crafted stories to a backbeat of rock and roll but with a modern twist. With today’s obsession of putting artists in boxes of genre, I don’t want to undersell Louis: there’s nothing old-fashioned about his subject matter and if you take the time to stop tapping your toes and listen to his lyrics there is a songwriter of considerable note here. It’s important that an artist like this gets airplay to break the monotony of modern lyrics on radio and I urge DJs to take note and push Louis.
Louis Berry is supported on stage with a band that works in perfect harmony with him and it was a joy to watch the capacity crowd at KOKO sit up and take note. His poise and confidence on stage is matched by Jack Postlethwaite’s lead guitar and Jesse Eigen’s bass. It was so nice to see them perform on a bigger stage giving them all room to express themselves with guitars brandished like Tommy guns against the rat a tat tat of Martin Gordon’s drums.
Around me there was the familiar comparison to Jake Bugg, and whilst Louis will not mind being put in that company, there is no imitation here. This is a guy that will be winning acclaim and filling KOKO on his own very soon. Take the chance to seek him out and watch him now, while you can. He plays Barfly soon and that intimate venue will afford a perfect opportunity to be there early on as Louis Berry continues his journey to being the next big thing. On the tube afterwards there was lots of positive buzz about Louis Berry, he wins fans whenever and wherever he plays. Don’t miss the opportunity to see him now.
