Gig Review: Keylock / Amy Montgomery / Jack J Hutchinson – Camden Assembly, London (21 January 2019)

Cold, wet winter Monday evenings aren’t usually the sort of times when smaller venues and bands can expect massive crowds, but tonight was different on two levels. Firstly, the nice people at the Assembly had put the heating on upstairs so we were warm and toasty on arrival! And secondly, the eager anticipation for the launch of new-look Keylock meant the room filled quickly during the support acts with fans of all the bands, as well as a smattering of recognisable local musicians, industry and media faces.

Jack Hutchinson (c) Jon Theobald

None of which phased opening act Jack J Hutchinson. It takes a certain sort of chops for a band-based musician to stand up with just an acoustic guitar, but the now-local blues boy Jack has built up a reputation for doing just that when asked from his many peers. Be-hatted and bearded and pulling songs from his solo album Paint No Fiction, as well as the recent Redfern-Hutchinson-Ross collaboration Mahogany Drift, his strong but soulful voice slipped easily between the opening up-tempo “Rapture” and “Hip Slickin’” to the slower, emotional “Written In Stone”.

Entertaining the audience with anecdotes of the previous weekend’s blues festival in Skegness, Jack then gave a well-deserved plug for his forthcoming electric tour supporting that other new British blues sensation Kris Barras. He teased with the promise of a fuller Black Crowes/Grateful Dead sound for his RHR “Solemn Song” when played with a full band and closed with the foot-stomping “Rattlesnake Woman” to great applause.

Get out to see him and Kris on tour soon, or if you are in the city with nothing much to do on a Sunday afternoon, head down to the Nothing But The Blues bar off Oxford Street where you’ll find Jack doing his thing (both plugged-in and unplugged) most weekends.

Amy Montgomery (c) Jon Theobald

I was warned about the incongruous fact that the next artist’s voice was vastly out of proportion to her body, and they weren’t wrong! The petite, sylph-like figure of Northern Irish singer Amy Montgomery floated on to the stage, barefoot, black war paint makeup line across her face and in a tastefully printed yet curiously semi-transparent dress. But when she picked up her guitar and started to sing opening song “Dangerous”, this enormous voice took over the room and held everybody spellbound for the next 35 or so minutes.

With barely a break Amy launched into “When You’re Dreaming” and then “Constitution”. Multi-talented Amy switches between keyboard, guitar and vocals during the set and interestingly drummer Michael Mormecha and keyboard player Zach Trouton, rotated drum and guitar roles too. Her carefree attitude and Boho-look bely the strength of Amy’s amazing voice and it’s easy to see that comparisons – to both Stevie Nicks and a modern day Janis Joplin – are well earned. Prowling the stage with both a scowl and a sparkle in her eyes, Amy and the boys delivered a catchy cover of Bo Diddley’s “Can’t Judge a Book”.

Not many bands ask the audience if they wanted more covers or original song – thankfully the shout out was for more of her work and we got another couple of Amy’s compositions before she wound up with “Tree Song (Nourish My Veins)” and as the song drew to an end, she slowly crouched down and closed her set lying on her back – emotionally drained but satisfied with the show. After a few dates during February in Ireland, Amy returns to England at Planet Rock’s Winter’s End festival where I for one will look forward to seeing her perform again.

Keylock (c) Jon Theobald

Having not previously seen the Black Cat Bones, I was intrigued to see what singer Jonnie Hodson would bring to the new Keylock – Travelling Rock and Roll Circus’, following his chance meeting last year with Aaron Keylock, and the new band they brought together. After the joss-sticks on stage were lit and the lights dimmed, the now-packed Assembly was also about to find out.

Opening with ‘Other Side’ the band showed that all the time locked away writing, composing and rehearsing had gone well and a tight, driving British-rock sound emanated from the stage and washed over the room. Jonnie was front and centre and smiling like a cat with two tails as he enthusiastically encouraged a great debut performance out of his fellow new band members.

His powerful voice was a contrast to Aaron’s previous unique tone, but he delivered a solid set of songs – albeit somewhat lost in the overall mix at the Assembly. “Ju Ju”, “Coming Home” and “Ways of Saying” followed, all new songs tonight but you can feel they have been influenced by the likes of The Faces, Stones, The Band and Free but all stand up in their own right.

With Aaron playing both rhythm with lead breaks, there was plenty of bromance opportunities between him and Jonnie, sharing the spotlight and microphone, both smiling and obviously having fun.

It’s a shame that no-one seemed to tell the lighting tech at the Assembly that there was a keyboard player at stage right as Thom Carter sat in pitch black most of the night, but his keyboards added warmth and depth to the setlist. Similarly just out of the spotlight ,was bassist Jack Browning adding some great bass lines in the dark. Drummer Joe Major fared better in the lighting department, but with no riser and a shallow stage meant there was little room for either Jonnie, Aaron or Jack to move around and give him some visibility!

The only downside of a new band is generally the depth of a set, and having run through nine numbers (presumably the basis for the debut album due out later this year), the band took a bow and then encored with a bit of a curveball in Edwin Starr!

Overall a great night and solid performances from all three bands. Despite Keylock being accomplished musicians in their own right, there must have been a small amount of nervousness at a debut gig, but they didn’t let it show and certainly put their stamp on 2019 as the band to look out for.

Photos by Jon Theobald

Keylock: facebook

Amy Montgomery: facebook

Jack J Hutchinson: facebook

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