Baby, it may have been icy cold outside but inside the beautiful Islington Assembly hall it was about to warm up…
It was the kind of warmth that floods right through you and comes from an evening of exuberance, fun and well, love, really. This was the very last night of the Skinny Lister 2022 tour, featuring Tom Jenkins and Berries.
Skinny Lister - the reason the Assembly Hall is now absolutely fooking rammed"
Tom Jenkins lit the kindling of the inferno-bound evening; a solitary figure, standing on the percussion and amp-packed stage with his guitar, he began to sing to us few listeners. How lucky were we to be there for the whole of his gorgeous, lyrical, story.
Tom dedicates songs to people from his home- “miners, farmers, relatives who worked and drank themselves to death before we could meet them.”
Toms voice is rich and warm, versatile (spanning several octaves without losing tone) and oh so expressive. His gentle introduction immediately connects the audience to him and each other, and it isn’t long before the room has filled up and the audience are in full sway with broad smiles for him and each other, charmed by this Welsh storyteller. The sound is melodic, emotional indie/folk with a country feel and it is simply captivating.
Some songs taken from his first album, Misery and Comfort (the title track dedicated to his dad) and others from his latest release It Comes in the Morning, It Hangs in the Evening Sky , Tom finger picks and strums his way through this beautiful, moving set, showcasing his multifarious talent. Tom dedicates songs to people from his home- “miners, farmers, relatives who worked and drank themselves to death before we could meet them.” He tells us about his life as a farmer- and he sings to us. It’s just lovely to listen to. His final song, Back Roads is an uplifting finale as he wishes us a Merry Christmas and promises us he will be back in 2023, this time with his band. The last refrain is “Where did I go wrong?” and our emphatic answer is- everything was right, Tom. All of it, all of you.
Gritty threesome grrrl band Berries were up next, this being their second Winter 2022 performance at Islington Assembly Hall.
Not an obvious filling for such a folky sandwich, indeed, they seemed to leave a bitter taste on some palates. However, their trademark energy pulsated through the crowd as they once more presented an engaging and forceful set of blistering, fierce, punchy yet melodic songs.
Click HERE to read our review of their previous Islington outing.
Berries are head-lining at Oslo, London next year so be sure to get your tickets.
And then, with a lightning turnaround, mandolins were tuned, accordions and melodeons miked up and a double bass, acoustic and electric guitars appeared, Skinny Lister – the reason the Assembly Hall is now absolutely fooking rammed, surge onto the stage and the extraordinary joy that they always bring is upon us.
The audience know every word they sing and greet each song like a well-loved, familiar face. The mutual love between band and fans hits you from the moment they begin, this is like old friends meeting after a long absence; soulmates reconnecting; the best kind of family gathering.
If you’ve not yet seen Skinny Lister live, you truly are missing out, so go! From the very first chord struck and battle cry hailed, the performance is an explosion of energy, joy and ultimate fun. ‘Wanted’ starts us off and with the cry, “I wanna feel alive”, fists are thrown into the air, mayhem is on the floor and people are infected with this particular kind of shanty punk joy.
‘George’s Glass’ and Tragedy in A minor’ see Scott Milson raising his bass onto this shoulders, relentless pace kept by drummer Tim Hillsdon, and Max Thomas leading us, his rowdy choir, in the rousing choruses on the melodeon. Country dancing style Rattle and Roar segues into a new country feel track with Lorna’s sweet, smoky voice reminding a few of us on the front row of the queen Dolly Parton herself. And for us, it is Lorna Thomas who runs the show, lapping the stage, climbing onto the blocks in the pit before going into the crowd and onto shoulders, her infectious, crazy joie de vivre filling us up with inspiration. As her namesake Lorna Doone says, “The love of all things was upon me, and a softness to them all, and a sense of having something even such as they had.”
The beautiful tune of What can I say follows arm-wrestling amidst the audience to accompany Arm-wrestling in Dresden before the Assembly Hall is flooded by multi-coloured lights as Dan Hepinstall sings ‘Colours’ and this feels like a big emotional moment. But before it all gets too sentimental, Party George (Lorna and Max’s dad) bounces on stage and the whisky is passed around the audience (albeit in Covid-friendly paper cups replacing the traditional flagon).
If such a thing were possible, Geordie Lad and Damn the Amsterdam raise the bar of jovial craziness yet higher as the band skip, bounce and frolic on stage and off it, cannoning off each other in magnificent chaos that this evening has become. The crowd roar with the band during John Kanaka, Rollin’ Over and Cathy, before the gentle, tender, folksy Bonny Away lulls us for a contemplative moment. Folk singer Beans on Toast joins the band to sing This Christmas and festive feels are all around.
This is War and the much-loved Trouble on Oxford Street end this joyously jovial party. But there’s more: not one, not two but three glorious, rollicking encores are their final Christmas present to us- Hamburg Drunk, Merry Christmas Everyone and Six Whiskies are the best kind of fun one can have at a gig, making us heady with exhilaration, congeniality and bonhomie. This was a roaring fire of an evening, a jubilant ‘matter of life and love’ that left us going home with the warmest, happiest and merriest of all Christmassy feelings.
Skinny Lister played Islington Assembly Hall Saturday December 17th 2022
Support from Tom Jenkins and Berries
Words and live photography Copyright of 1st 3 Magazine
Not to be reproduced without prior permission. Social media use only for persons depicted, event organisers and venue. Not to be cropped or altered in any way.