Nigel Clark, yeah him of Vocals and Bass duties from Dodgy, he’s playing an acoustic session at the Angus Tap and Grind on Dale Street Liverpool so on a murky rainy evening we head down.
Dodgy produced hits in the 90s with bright tuneful slightly psychedelic Indy Rock and are effectively still going. Nigel has also recorded solo and side project work. Tonight he showcases it all armed only with an acoustic and one superb singing voice.
He mixes in stories that bring genuine laughter, banter with friends in the crowd (Dodgy recorded their first album in Liverpools Parr Street Studio and spent time living in Tuebrook.
Early in the gig Nigel states he’s never played in front of windows before (The Angus has full length large windows) and was people walk by he begins to interact with them, a wave here a smile there and then he starts improvising songs about the characters on their way past. We are treated to a random moondance by one, Nigels sings ‘he’s not dancing to my song, he’s got headphones on’ and ‘Flip Flops in the rain, I’m hard I’m from Tuebrook’. These humorous song snippets become a feature of the gig and they highlight his lyrical sensibilities and songwriters keen observational skill.
After an extensive pre-amble ‘Big Brown Moon’ immediately shows his performing ability and well crafted songwriting. Drugs and WiFi got me through lockdown introduces ‘Home Grown’ and before ‘Lovebirds’ he explains that he was young and in love then adds the long gone ex is now a sex therapist he’s heard.
The voice though, capably of whimsy one second and escalating to full on emotional crescendo the next. Truly a pleasure to hear. ‘Make Believe Love’ (also the title of his solo album) is played and sung as well as everything tonight and persuades me to buy a copy.
We are treated to two sets tonight, the second set opens with more chat and banter then into a song written about Ronald Reagan, Nigel states if thats too long ago to remember then it could apply to Donald Trump these days.
Dodgy classics are hit with an upbeat version of ‘Staying Out For The Summer’ complete with an explanation of its storyline complete with domestic life split asunder and moving from a steady job and life to take up music full time.
An excellent cover of Tom Waits ‘I Hope I Don’t Fall In Love With You’ is thrown in and Nigel gets the bar staff to join in by ring the last orders bell at the relevant moments in the song and another of Frank Wilsons ‘Do I Love You’. This is (necessarily) stripped down from the full on production of the original and captures its core essence with an emotional vocal delivery.
There’s more and he officially ends the set with his Dodgy son ‘Good Enough For You’ but we all know there’s at least one encore coming. This proves to be ‘So Let Me Go Far’ from Dodgy and I had forgotten how great a song this was. Nigel’s voice whispers and then soars, it’s such a great tune and the slick guitar playing more than makes up for the lack of a full band.
Playing the album in the car on the way home reinforces that this guy is talented and relevant. The extra instrumentation covers a wide range of styles than an acoustic guitar performance can.
A fantastic small gig, all seated, Covid rules in evidence. The venue is comfortable, friendly and welcoming and the sound in there is particularly good.
Word and Photos: RBY
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKkm5B7k-Wx65NK9pQ94UBg
Music available from all major online sources (Spotify etc.)
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