Embrace and Starsailor at Mill City Nights, Minneapolis (09 Jun 2015)

It’s official… June is the new Rocktober.



At least this year, so many bands are touring this month, even compared to the fall, that it’s enough to make your head spin.  As a result, concertgoer ticket money becomes more selective and some shows fall slightly through the cracks.  One such show, at least locally, was a co-headlined gem with UK bands Embrace and Starsailor, who are both re-introducing themselves to the US audience after several years away.

Two Harbors

Opening the Mill City Nights gig was the local go-to Brit Rock-influenced band, Two Harbors, who have a new release called The Natural Order of Things (on Susstones Records).



Producer Ed Ackerson was on hand to hear some of the new songs that were mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios and band leader Chris Pavlich and co. take the best things from the Gallagher brothers and other ‘90s UK bands, and leaves the ballyhoo and sibling rivalries, wisely out of things.

Starsailor

Wigan, UK band Starsailor was next, with an impressive eleven-song, hour-long set that re-visited much of the old, and introduced us to some of the new.  The quartet began rightly with ‘Poor Misguided Fool’, from its 2001 debut, moving next into ‘Alcoholic’ which not coincidentally, is the following track on Love is Here (EMI Records).



A pair of tunes followed from the band’s last and scantily heard album, All the Plans, from 2009 when I’m not even sure if the band had a US record contract, but especially ‘Neon Sky’ sounded like vintage Starsailor.



“We won’t leave you so long next time” singer James Walsh mentioned, prefacing the anthemic ‘Keep Us Together’.  ‘Tie Up My Hands’ the opening salvo from their debut album, sounded more seasoned and sonically mature than its studio counterpart; the result of playing it for fifteen years, and new track ‘Give Up the Ghost’ fits nicely within the band’s song canon.



“You’ve made a good night for us”, Walsh mentioned, noting the general enthusiasm of the fans in attendance and the band closed strongly, with radio hits, ‘Four to the Floor’, ‘Silence is Easy’ and a stretched out version of their initial hit, ‘Good Souls’.

Danny McNamara

After a short break, West Yorkshire UK five piece Embrace took to the stage for their own hour-long set, spotlighting songs from last year’s self-titled album (on Cooking Vinyl) that signaled a return to the band’s initial roots and influences.



Opening track ‘Protection’ (track one from the new album) set the sweeping, moody, and somewhat electronic tone of the set, with singer Danny McNamara and guitarist brother Richard up front and inciting the audience.



Like Starsailor, the band has been on hiatus for most of the last ten years, but effectively reacquainted us of their sound, playing songs from four of their six albums.  1998’s ‘All You Good Good People’ reminded us of everything that worked with ‘90s Brit Rock, and digital bonus track ‘DNA’ was a surprise to hear live.



“This next one was written by a multi-millionaire…and is being sung by someone who is not”, said singer McNamara introducing the Coldplay-penned 2004 ballad ‘Gravity’, which has echoes of ELO’s ‘Can’t Get it Out of my Head’.  Guitarist Richard McNamara croaked and fiddled about, tuning for his lead vocal turn on ‘Refugees’, but sounded smooth and pristine once the song kicked in.

a unique and personal show

The set culminated with 2004’s ‘Ashes’ that had singer Danny McNamara personally thanking almost everyone in the audience individually with a nod and thumbs up in their direction, as he walked about the stage singing the verses.  This made an already intimate performance that much more personal for everyone attending.



And with that, two UK bands had re-introduced themselves nicely to America with a promise of new music coming from both bands as well.  With too many entertainment choices for the evening, it was a pity that more people (and Brit Rock fans) weren’t there to witness it; but those that did, saw a unique and personal show.

john (johnc@weheartmusic.com)
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