Album reviews...

Since I'm not going to any gigs this month here's a couple of album reviews I've written for Rebeat Magazine in recent months...

Richard Thompson at the Royal Festival Hall

The Richard Thompson Band

Royal Festival Hall, 18 January 2011

"I like kittens and little babies. Can't you see that's the kind of guy I am?" Richard Thompson sings at the start of the show. It's the opening line of The Money Shuffle, the first song on his excellent new album Dream Attic (which he amusingly dedicates to the bankers of the world) but somehow it seems the truth, because all through this three hour show Thompson comes across as a truly nice guy: funny, sweet and self-deprecating, not one of the greatest guitarists in the world today and a true British music legend, which he most definitely is.

Elvis Costello at the Royal Festival Hall

Elvis Costello
Kami Thompson
Royal Festival Hall, 20 June 2010

Looking a cross between a 30s gangster and a vaudeville man, Elvis Costello seems glad to be back in London despite showing a reluctance in recent years to return home. Bouncing onto the stage full of energy, his surprisingly booming voice fills the Royal Festival Hall and it becomes quickly apparent that this is to be the loudest acoustic show I’ve ever been to.