Being universally fêted invariably results in a certain level of general curiosity. Sadly, Matthew E White is the exception that disproves the rule. Despite the acclaim and airplay for his debut album, Big Inner, last night's supposed entry into the medium league attracted so few people that the Empire's top two tiers were closed and there was room to swing most of west London's cats on the bottom two.
White, though, seemed admirably unconcerned. His easy-going charm thawed the early atmospheric chill; his five-man band and horn trio blended like brothers and the resulting musical soup suggested he was worth all the bouquets tossed his way.
He covered Neil Young’s jaunty Are You Ready for the Country and Randy Newman’s Sail Away, while Will You Love Me incorporated sections of Jimmy Cliff’s Many Rivers to Cross. Once White hit his stride, though, he blended Americana, Southern Gothic gospel, Little Feat-style strutting and the layered richness of Kings of Leon.
Vocal harmonies and spartan percussion collided on Will You Love Me but the real meat came with the thunder of Gone Away and the epic but comforting closer Brazos. The saga of a slave couple escaping across the River Brazos in Texas ended in a frenzied, all-guns-blazing finale with White declaring: “Jesus Christ is your friend”, and what could have been a miserable evening of misplaced hopes had been transformed into a roaring triumph.
The masses who missed out, missed a treat.
