Willy Mason: ULU, London 21 April 2005

To state the obvious and probably over stated, its really is amazing that Willy Mason is only 19. That he is old beyond his years may be a cliché but, credit where it’s due, the bloke has a prodigious talent, a matured voice and an easy guitar style that makes his folk music eminently listenable to in a live setting.

Given his age and leanings towards quasi-political, romantic lyrics, playing the University of London student union was a good move. The crowd ranged from young girls, smitten by their version of Dylan, through Xfm listeners, to folkies checking out the young new comer. All parties showed a dedication to the singer that would suggest success should he decide to do the circuit this festival season. And thankfully the night wasn’t dictated by calls for the single ‘Oxygen’, which did get its understandably lacklustre airing at the end but was by no means the main reason for coming. Rather it was an opportunity for Mason and his clearly (and quite touchingly) devoted little brother Sam, on drums, to run through selected songs from the current album ‘Where the Humans Eat’.

Playing everything acoustically, it took a few moments for the singer to get his act together, betraying his not-long-since amateur status but ultimately endearing himself to the crowd who could no doubt appreciate the difficulty of tuning your own guitar whilst a waiting audience looks on. Aborting an attempt at ‘Our Town’ which he fortunately reprieved for an encore, Mason played on, doing songs such as ‘Hard Hand to Hold’ and ‘Gotta Keep Movin’ with laid back ease. Particularly memorable were a jazzier version of ‘Sold My Soul’ that had got the collective pulses racing a bit, and the vitriolic ‘Where the Humans Eat’ which, according to a loud guy talking to his girlfriend, is actually about his dog (Willy Mason’s not the loud guy’s).

Whatever the subject matter, Mason’s turn of phrase is one of his best attributes and, unlike many other poet cum songwriters, the lyrics make sense and can be followed quite easily. Which probably explains the devoted following already amassed by this clearly talented young man. Or perhaps it is just because he gives away fresh fruit and vegetables at his gigs and looks out for his little brother...

words & photo: Robin Harris

Have your say here