![]() Having sent the song to Hicks, he then explained how Hicks had substantially altered it in his own inimitable way changing “a word to the wise – be nice” to “a word to the wise – shut up”. From that same album he played the title track which he explained he’d asked Dan Hicks to perform. In 2010 Kirchen released ‘Word to the Wise’, an album that featured a number of guests collaborators and when introducing ‘Man in the Bottom of the Well’ from that album Kirchen offered a tongue-in-cheek apology for the absence of Elvis Costello from tonight’s proceedings before wryly adding, “In fact he hasn’t turned up for the last 321 gigs”. All of this adds up to a very unique and instantly recognisable sound that has resulted in Kirchen being dubbed the ‘Titan of the Telecaster’.īeginning with ‘Get a Little Goner’ Kirchen’s three-piece band swung like a well-pitched hammock as he effortlessly belted out one great tune after another, ‘Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods’ was followed by ‘Wine Do Your Stuff’ the first of a number of Commander Cody songs to feature in the set. By similarly swirling the tone control he is also able to produce a wah-wah effect without the use of a pedal. As with all of his guitars over the years Kirchen has reversed the switch control so that the volume is at the front, thus allowing Kirchen to do volume swirls that emulate the sound of a steel guitar. It was made from 150 year old Bowery Pine reclaimed from the attic of film-maker Jim Jarmusch by New York guitar maker Rick Kelly. Kirchen himself brought with him his trademark pine telecaster. So there was no shortage of talent to set before an enthusiastic crowd. Photo: Leslie ShimminĪfter a short break Bill Kirchen strode unassumingly on stage, resplendent in a rather dapper looking paisley shirt and accompanied by drummer (and label boss) Malcolm Mills and bassist Paul Riley, a man well known to followers of the pub-rock scene having featured in such seminal bands as Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers, Rockpile, Roogalator and The Balham Alligators alongside producing or engineering records for countless artists including Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Squeeze and Johnny Marr. The set concluded, after what seemed no time at all, with ‘Domestico’ leaving the assembled throng very grateful that Peter had caught that train. His explanation of the story behind ‘Broken Wing’ focused the audience’s attention on the words which when set to Bruntnell’s poignant delivery, produced the highlight of a high quality and well received set. Kicking off with the evergreen ‘By the Time My Head Gets to Phoenix’ Bruntnell played a well-balanced set of old favourites and newer songs. The solo acoustic format not only focuses greater attention on the words of his songs but also gives greater prominence to his voice, which has become richer with maturation over the years, something that is sometimes overlooked when considering his multifarious talents. Performing a rare solo slot (his other most recent visits to Manchester have been with his band), Bruntnell was in fine form. Having someone of the standing of Peter Bruntnell as the evening’s support act encouraged most of the good-sized crowd to arrive early and they weren’t to be disappointed. ![]() Others might have given up, but Peter explained “I just love Bill and wanted to see him play”. ![]() He then completed the journey with the purchase of a £74 rail ticket. Peter explained that he’d booked a coach ticket to Manchester, only for the coach driver to be taken ill and an ambulance called for him part way into the journey. It probably takes a very special artist in order to persuade Peter Bruntnell to haul himself up north to fill a support slot.
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