Hudson Taylor Live @ First Direct Arena, Leeds. 19.10.14

Rating:

As a drearily dull night begins to take its toll in Leeds, thousands retreat into the arena to enjoy some live music; a perfect escape. Supporting Jake Bugg is actually quite a feat right now as he’s hit the ground running with his first two albums, a privilege that many people would be proud to perform. The guys with the privilege tonight are Dublin duo Hudson Taylor.

As they come on stage to a pretty packed arena, the sounds of numerous acoustic guitars boom from wall to wall, resulting in a warmth of music wrapping around every one in the room. Starting out in music busking on the streets of Dublin, Hudson Taylor have become ‘street smart’ about music – maintaining charm and charisma in not only their music but also their performance, creating a personal aspect to them.

Songs such as ‘Chasing Rubies’ have that warmth that I just mentioned, creating a jaunty atmosphere and an all-round ‘feel-good’ attitude amongst the fans that have just begun to warm up from the temperamental weather outside. The constant booming of the drums over the strings of the acoustics creates a dramatic thundering beat within our chests.

‘Weapons’, with its echoing chants in its chorus, brings me back down to earth and leaves me with a soothing feeling in my head, as it urges you to  to ‘put down your weapons’ and not fight with your demons for this beautiful moment in time. It must be said, it has to be one of the most sentimental moments of a gig that I’ve witnessed, something of a similar level of ‘Broken’ live, by the artist they are opening up for tonight.

Confession time. I must admit, I was rather sceptical about Hudson Taylor, my biggest fear being that they would just be another stereotypical Irish indie band; yet, even though they have acoustic guitars and all the characteristics of this ), there’s undoubtedly something different about them. Maybe this is the resurrection Irish music needed?

All in all, Hudson Taylor certainly succeeded in warming up the crowd for the headline act; in fact, I’d even go out there and say they conjured up as much as a cheer as most of the Jake Bugg set got… and  even created a more suitable atmosphere for an arena, a positive glimpse into the future perhaps.

As well as supporting Jake Bugg on his current tour, Hudson Taylor are going out on a headline tour of their own starting in February next year.

 

James Cummins.

@CummyBear

James Cummins

James Cummins

James Cummins

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