Reviews

Theo Katzman at SWX

Posted on: 2024-03-05

Spontaneous, intimate and raucous all at the same time.

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As I waded into the crowd with my £7 pint (who hurt you, SWX?!) I settled into a spot behind two young men wearing the exact same chequered shirt, before surveying the crowd: a sea of thin-framed glasses and beards. Exactly as expected. I checked myself: oh no, I was one of them.

But, looking a little further, I saw past the trappings, I saw more variety – I realised my expectations were way off, in a way that foreshadowed how this gig would unfold.

But first: May Erlewine. Despite an oddly extended wait after doors opening, May Erlewine brought the crowd immediately back in with her gentle, friendly energy and open heart.

Whilst her ethereal, western-style ballads didn’t necessarily build the energy of the room too high, they were certainly beautiful and engaging – and set the right tone for Katzman while still providing the strength of her own voice, as well as a sneak peek at wildly-talented guitarist Packy Lundholm, doing double-duty for both artists.

Theo Katzman is perhaps best known as one quarter of the idiosyncratic funk powerhouse Vulfpeck – and I won’t lie when I say I found his recorded music feeling a little understated in comparison, and that’s what I expected here. I was wrong.

A pre-recorded, philosophical voiceover built tension before Katzman and his four-piece backup band (including Vulfpeck’s legendary bassist Joe Dart) burst onto the stage with aggressively crashing chords that suddenly gave way to the gentlest possible piano to lead into crowd-pleasing hit “Be the Wheel”.

Katzman stage presence is glowing – he plays with genuine soul, delight and fire. Whilst his music morphs between soul, funk and pop, it’s firmly rooted in a sense of earthy, folksy Americana – more Courageous Cowboy than Fearless Flyer.

That said, Katzman and his band seemed unable to repress the playful funk & jazz musicians in their hearts – improvising around the songs, breaking out into solos and play-offs, all while Katzman throws his voice up and down the high registers like he’s playing with a frisbee.

That sense of play extended between songs too, with Katzman gently teasing drummer Jordan Rose, waving to people he met in a coffee shop, and doing his favourite British accent – that he described as a ‘little baby grandma who smokes a pack a day’.

Katzman & co. went on to deliver a shockingly good rendition of Vulfpeck-covered cross-hit “What Did You Mean (When You Said Love)”, which morphed from a beautiful piano solo by Dave Mackay to a face-melting solo by Katzman himself which induced his hat to fall off.

This led into a truly showstopping rendition of 7-minute song “100 Years” – although the show didn’t actually stop there. Katzman played through a few more songs that, by contrast, were slightly less memorable – veering dangerously close to standard Stadium Country for my liking at one point.

However, after returning for a well-earned encore, Katzman delivered a soul-touching and well-timed rendition of “Nobody Loves You Like Your Mother”, before bringing May Erlewine back on for one of her songs, and then the full band for two more songs, including an organised three-part singalong with the audience.

Ultimately, this was a gig that felt spontaneous, intimate and raucous all at the same time. Katzman’s very presence felt like permission to have a good time, and at the end of it all he delivered a familiar live artist refrain; describing us as one of the best, if not the best crowd he’d performed this show to. Somehow though, when Theo Katzman said it? I believed him.

Images: Soul Media

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