Caught Live (13): Quill @ The Artrix 13/08/16

Bostin' Bromsgrove: Quill ...

#1,155: Hello ... Hello ... my old friends ... It's great to see you once again! Quill are a quite stunning band. Just when you think that you've seen it all before, they go and change their set list, roll out a new song or two and reinvent another. A solo Summer evening drive last night (Saturday 13th August) down to one of my fave Midlands venues at The Artrix in Bromsgrove to see Joy Strachan-Brain and her merry band of Americana artisans delight another healthy theatre audience with their hearty mix of live reinterpretations and impressive originals.

Yours Truly KJS has seen Quill transform over the few years in which elobeatlesforever (elobf) have covered their concerts. From a notable pub in Wolverley to Birmingham Symphony Hall and through the odd change in personnel, Quill are still quintessentially Quill with the effervescent Joy leading her sextet through a merry dance that now includes a much larger proportion of their own material as they continue to reinvent themselves. Their latest performance was no different as we were treated to two (2) new songs in "Pretty Ribbons" and "Perfect Skin" as well as a revamped "Nine Mile Camp". If they were proverbial scene stealers, then an inspired vocal rendition of Stevie Winwood's "Can't Find My Way Home" by Abby Brant alongside an amazing Quilltastic take on "The Whole Of The Moon" and their latest ingeniously named instrumental showcase "Stuart's Jig" had us all tapping and clapping in unison.

Quill's lady trio plus KJS ...

Harmonies were again of the highest order. the percussion of Andy Edwards was truly a masterclass and, as ever, Tony Kelsey radiated class with his guitar licks. Kate McWilliam's vocals seemed more prominent on the night and perfectly complimented her virtuoso violin antics whilst Matt Worley's husky vocals lent considerable weight and quality to the likes of "Say It Ain't So" and "A Showman's Life". You'd expect me to praise Quill's inclusion of songs by ELO and The Beatles in their set - and I do! Their version of "Telephone Line" is very clever with, once again, Joy Strachan-Brain owning it, wearing it and, as they say, smashing it. Go see 'em!

Abi K & The Roadsters ...

Before I sign off, a mention for the Abi - very talented daughter of Tony. Quill always seem to pick the most appropriate of artistes as support. But choosing Abi K & The Roadsters added a lovely jazzy feel to the night with the quartet a real treat, if not a delight. With double bass player Tom Clark-Hill (who also sings and does voiceovers!), a phenomenal guitarist in Lee Jones and the superb drummist Andy Edwards in tow, the quartet delivered an entertaining set mixing their own composition "Bittersweet" (from their debut EP) with some nice jazz covers including a wonderful take on the John Lennon classic "Jealous Guy". It was very easy to warm to the sultry vocals of Abi and I predict a bright future for her and those Roadsters. Go see 'em too!

Next up for Quill is their appearance at The Mac in Birmingham on Thursday 1st September. Tickets are still available at just £20.00 each and they can be purchased via this link thus:

macbirmingham.co.uk/event/quill

Quill were: Joy Strachan-Brain (Vox/percussion) ~ Kate McWilliam (Violin/vox) ~ Tony Kelsey (Guitars/vox) ~ Abby Brant (Keyboards/vox) ~ Matt Worley (Bass/vox) ~ Andy Edwards (Drums/percussion)

Quill performed: “The Bells Of Rhymney” ~ “Black Dog Day” ~ “A Showman’s Life” ~ “Telephone Line” ~ “Can’t Find My Way Home” ~ “Perfect Skin” ~ “Say It Ain’t So” ~ "Elephant In The Room” ~ “Nine Mile Camp” ~ "Pretty Ribbons" ~ "Stuart's Jig" ~ “The Whole Of The Moon” ~ “Say Goodbye” ~ England Medley: “Wild Mountain Thyme”/“England”/“Jerusalem” ~ Encore: “Golden Slumbers”/“Carry That Weight”/“The End”

Find out what Quill are up to by visiting their official web site via this link thus:

Official QUILL web site

elobeatlesforever (elobf) recommends both Abi K & The Roadsters and Quill to those enlightened folks who also like ELO/Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood, 'Brum Beat', The Idle Race, The Move, The Beatles and related artistes.

Until next "Time" in the ELO (and related) Universe ... KJS ... 14-Aug-2016