Live Review: Simon Beazley, Tashi Hall

Talented multi-instrumentalist Tashi Hall’s performance at The Moon Café on Wednesday night was a laid-back affair, filled with acoustic covers and mellowed-out songs. The lack of a stage was compensated by a small area surrounded by antique armchairs and worn-out coffee tables, further adding to the intimacy of Hall’s acoustic performance. With strong folky vocals and reggae-ish offbeats, her song selection invited the listener on a journey of interesting melodies and blues-addled riffs – including tracks from her debut EP, Gratitude, and a cover of Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi – starting off with the track, Shine A Light, which allowed the audience to slowly descend into her music through a catchy folksy riff. Shine A Light gave her performance that essential upbeat vibe, with its notoriously addictive hooks and a foot-tapping rhythm. The only thing stopping the audience from dancing was the comfy interior of The Moon Café. The second song, Un-try, took the performance down a more tragic and bluesy path, with the speed being more solemn and slow, the lines “Don’t try to be like me” and “Don’t try to follow me” carrying additional emotive baggage. The most memorable song from her set was The Rabbit Hole, which provided a quick and successive close to her performance, bringing the huddled audience into a rhythmic fervour.

Hall was followed by singer Simon Bazeley, of the music project known as Petrichoral. Armed solely with an electric guitar and a healthy dose of reverb, he could be likened to performers such as Jake Bugg and King Krule. His set also included tracks from his own self-titled EP, Petrichoral, the pleasantly trippy sounds highlighted by See The Sun, where the added reverb on the vocals amplified the swaying psychedelia the song conveys so well. Everything’s Coming Up Milhouse continued providing carefree vibes through its chilled-out sound, reminiscent of early ‘60s surf-rock. Sunday, with lyrics that describe the sadness at the close of the weekend and the bliss of lounging about, nevertheless sat well with a gig that took place on a Wednesday, the audience sitting well relaxed, cocktails in hand, listening to a two-artists-spanning soundtrack that complemented their own Sundays-in-spirit.