Tonight feels like a particularly inclusive evening.
From James Skelly watching the support bands with genuine interest, right through to a stall selling Coral drummer and brother Ian Skelly’s recent solo album, it feels like a collective spirit is in the air.
As James Skelly takes to the stage the inclusive spirit continues as, to the surprise of many, James Skelly & The Intenders consist of four Coral members, as well as members of support band The Sundowners and fellow scousers Tramp Attack.
Opening with the Northern Soul tinged You’ve Got It All and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club/Stairs influenced Do It Again, the two opening numbers feel much heavier live than they do on James Skelly’s recently solo album Love Undercover.
As the set of well-crafted, well-structured songs progresses, we witness a songwriter who has evidently given a lot of thought over the years to the way in which songs are structured and presented.
In Skelly’s solo work, song craft reigns supreme and the line: “Got a ring upon your finger, I see you didn’t waste your time” from Sacrifice, would not sound out of place on Bob Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks.
James Skelly’s solo material shows an assured and highly skilled songwriter even if on occasions tonight, certain elements sound slightly middle of the road.
As Skelly is onstage with three other members of The Coral, the realization strikes that the difference between Skelly’s solo work and The Coral’s work is that the work of Skelly is more stripped back.
It is The Coral without the psychedelia.
Having played a sizable amount of Love Undercover, Skelly and the band treat the audience to a selection of crowd pleasing Coral favourites such as Liezah, Talkin’ Gypsy Market Blues and a full on Ska version of Shadow’s Fall.
A storming cover of Ray Charles’ I Don’t Need No Doctor turns into a full on mod floor shaker which precedes perfectly the Phil Spector style You And I.
The ability to pen these type of songs highlights James Skelly as one, if not the most underrated British songwriter of the last 10 to 15 years.
You And I toys with the audience wonderfully. At one point, the band has pretty much the whole of Gorilla dancing as if they are at the Twisted Wheel circa 1964.
They then slow the track down to an Astral Weeks style meander before finally picking it up again and sending a fair few people into a frenzy.
An inevitable encore begins with 2007’s Jacqueline before moving onto The Coral’s most celebrated number, Dreaming Of You. The crowd, as expected loses it before a cover of Stand By Me ends the evening with a mass sing along.
The strains of Stand By Me can be heard drifting along Whitworth Street West as the crowd disperses – perfect when you consider the inclusive feeling of tonight.
It seems a good time was had by all.
Picture courtesy of Aurelian Guichard, with thanks.
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