Reviews

the epsteins

The Epsetin ( no 's' on the end!) are usually a five piece but their drummer apparently translates Russian for a living and been waylaid with some political document or rather so for tonight they are a four-piece. I really enjoyed these guys. They are English hailing from Oxford and London but they play great country/americana style music. It was by no means 'I'm driving a truck and beating my dog' style country either. It took its influence from fantastic artists such as Gram Parsons. They had a bass player, electric guitarist, frontman also on acoustic and a banjo player which created a very rich sound. They began with 'New York City Blues' a relaxed vibe with some great slide guitar playing as the frontman sang "don't you think it'll be an easy ride". His voice suited their style of music perfectly and you could always hear what he was singing. 'Charanga Classica' was second. I don't know if I've spelt 'Charanga' correctly and for those who don't know what one is its a So! uth American instrument made from a dead armadillo! The song was originally written on one hence the name. It contained some great vocal harmonies with the lyrics "I think I've found my home". An eariely dark soundscape was created on the next song about getting lost in Wyoming. After another song they wanted to "wind it down" and played a really gentle country tune with the words "Think I'll head out to the country, I'll be there for a while, If you need me you can call me just about anytime". A really good cover of a Gram Parsons classic was next and then a melancholic instrumental in which we were advised to close our eyes and imagine ourselves in a movie. It works as well! The song 'Sunday Evening' was next before the frontman had to do some tuning up. He said it reminded him of a certain Johnny Cash live album where he can't tune his guitar! Luckily they had none of those problems and went into 'Another Band Has Gone' and the words "I'm running from the underground, I'! m gonna catch the midnight ride". At this point most acts usually take a break but these guys decided that as they had a chilled out audience who were really enjoying it they would just keep playing all the way through. Dedication! With that they went into a song that built up to almost a stomp. "If you call for me in the morning I'll be gone, when the sunshine hits your doorway I'll be gone" the frontman sang. A song called 'Down BY The River' was next and yes that is a Bob Dylan title but nonetheless it was written in an area of Oxford called Port Meadow. A was then played by an artist who I have uet to discover but he is apparrently as good as Dylan. He goes by the name of Townes Van Sant. Definetly one to check out! The song 'Frauline' followed which had some great lyrics. "Take me down to the river tonight when those stars start to shine, with those same stars above you I swear I love you, you are my pretty frauline". The songs 'Dead Man' and 'Dance The Night Away' came next before we got a choice of either a mellow one or a rocking one. ! Of course the audience chose a rocking one called 'Just The Wind', a cool song followed by another interesting instrumental. Possibly the best part of the performance was left for the end. The frontman unplugged his acoustic and went down into the seating area and began to sing and play a beautifully delicate song that completely held everyones attention. "Leave your light on for me" he sang before the band joined with some amazing un-miced vocal harmonies of "I won't desert you, just wait and see". A very moving performance. This band write great songs and are a fantastic unit. In total they played 19 songs and it never once got boring. One of the few bands who I would actually choose to go and see for pure enjoyment!

Ed hutchinson