Phosphorescent @ the Ruby Lounge, Manchester, 07 May 2013

First up was the local band Hawker Reunion, a 3 piece (drum, bass & guitar) who were booked at the last minute, much to their surprise, apparently! They performed a good, tight, short set and have an interesting sound, sung by the bass player with backing vocals from the guitarist. There were some good harmonies and the guitarist played some interesting solos.

Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties and so this show wasn't a great introduction to the band, however, there are a few tracks available on YouTube & Spotify so, if you are of a mind you can check them out, I would suggest the mellow Don’t you ever care for me? or Taken down & timeless / Gweddi.

Phosphorescent took to the stage as a 6 piece for this gig, by that I mean that Phosphorescent is the vehicle that Matthew Houck (a native of Alabama who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York) uses to ply his trade as a singer / songwriter / guitarist with seven albums to his name so far.

The current album, Muchacho, formed the basis for this gig and the band was excellent with each band member adding in equal measure to the overall punchy, melodic, ethereal sound. I don’t recall seeing a band recently that used an electric piano and organ and the sound of these two instruments informed much of what was great about the concert. Jo Schornikow on the organ played some great bluesy rhythms to underpin the songs and Scott Stapleton on piano played with a furious, frenetic, and fabulously frenzied style that was a joy to behold. His intent staring across the stage at Jo must have been pretty un-nerving the first time she found herself on its receiving end! These two ‘book ends’ either side of front man Houck were a fascinating counter point during the show; on the one hand there was the steady, staid, sexy, serene Jo on organ and on the other there was the pumped up, preening, powerful Scott (wearing a bizarrely one sleeved T Shirt!).

Set back from the front line was Jeffrey Bailey on bass, David Torch on percussion and Chris Marine on drums, all of whom added in equal measure to the band’s rich pounding, pumping bass sound. However, special mention should be made of the prodigiously bearded Mr Marine’s fabulous, fearsome, fluent drumming which was especially powerful on the excellent, lengthy final band number The Quotidian Beasts. I just wanted this one to go on all night and watching the powerhouse drumming put me in mind of “Animal” from the Muppets! As an aside, all male band members were bearded, just an observation!

Then of course we had the dishevelled, worn out looking Mr Houck who was wearing a great old pair of busted brown boots, I got the feeling they have been through a great deal with him! His guitar playing was top notch and his singing is pretty unique (a much over used word, but appropriate in this case). His voice, which has often been compared to Richard Manuel of the Band, is soulful, world weary, tired and ‘broken’ and he delivers his words with a real depth of feeling and emotion. He appears to be a man with a troubled past and he spent much of the night singing with his eyes closed whilst gesticulating with his right hand, forefinger pointed at some unseen object of his thoughts.

Stand out tracks, for me, were the ‘single’ from Muchacho Song for Zula, (which has an unexpectedly upbeat and mesmeric reverb bass line and snare drum back beat) Los Angeles, A picture of our torn up praise, Ride on / Right On, Wolves (which was sung solo and ended on a looped out crescendo of guitar and vocal) and the aforementioned The Quotidian Beasts.

One small quibble, and after such a great show it almost seems too fussy, but the band played for a little over 50 minutes and then Matthew returned for a 2 song encore on which he was joined by Jo on the last number, Waylon Jennings’ Storms Never Last. It left me feeling a little ‘short changed’ but then maybe the glow of Phosphorescent had all but burnt out by then!

If Phosphorescent is new to you, then I recommend that you check out the current album and listen to the wonderful voice of Matthew Houck, and if that grabs you, then this is definitely a band that gets better when seen live.

“Some say love is a burning thing, that it makes a fiery ring, Oh but I know love as a fading thing, just as fickle as a feather in a stream”...................