Willard Grant Conspiracy and Steve Wynn - Bedford Shed - 3rd May 2006

Review by Keith Hargreaves

A balmy night in Bedford was treated to a rare genuine double bill last courtesy of the East /West Promotions and a fullish house was there to enjoy it.

Steve Wynn returning to a venue he played 6 months previous with a full band took to stage with just a guitar and a back catalogue any tunesmith would envy . His stated ‘california’ mood filled his songs with a joy and a snap as he performed both recent and established numbers . A couple of songs in he was joined by a couple of co-conspiritors on guitar and stand up bass and the fleshed out sound gave the songs that extra dimension they didn’t necessarily need but certainly benefited from .Stand out tracks – The Deep End, Merritville ( I think) and Amphetamine . The songs were punctuated by witty conversation and the audience reaction by the end of the set highlighted how much he was appreciated although time did not allow for the requested encore.

Robert Fisher started the evening sitting at the back of the hall selling cd’s and chatting with all who approached , an obviously erudite ,intelligent, engaging personality .When the band took to the stage he also revealed himself to be a powerful songwriter and performer of some of the darkest yet uplifting material you are likely to hear this year. The between song preambles centred round death, suicide ,war, protest and, if I recall correctly, death again. He promised to start gently and finish in a ‘very brutal way ‘ and he was good to his words , starting with the lilting Dance with Me and moving through most of Let It Roll until the tumultuous title track finished the set with a mighty wall of sound that was wonderful to behold. The set was peppered with older tracks but the extended songs of the new material dominated especially as a vehicle for the old testament wail of Fishers’ vocals and the stark beauty of the violin/viola. The band were excellent ,clearly enjoying playing and clearly enjoying playing together-well drilled but loose and funky around the the rooted figure of their leader .

Mr.Fisher said he heard the bands’ sound described as ‘ garage –folk’ and liked it ;with this performance ,with this material, garage folk should be the new sensation that sweeps the nation. If you can- see this show!

From www.americana-uk.com

Willard Grant Conspiracy - ABC2, Glasgow - 6th May 2006

Review by Mike Ritchie

“We’ll be back in the Fall with something unique, something special,” promised Robert Fisher as he brought this hugely satisfying gig before an almost full house to a close. To my mind, on the three occasions I’ve seen them, WGC always bring ”something unique, something special” to their performances and tonight was no different. With the sound balance almost just right the songs, old and new, have never flowed better. And Fisher, full of smiles and wry comments, clearly revelled in his main man and band leader role with unerringly good back up from those gathered around him on stage for the occasion. Slow, dark and deep, as always, Fisher’s voice is one of the most notable in the business, telling his brooding stories with gravitas. On Breach from new release “Let It Roll” – the gig’s opener - and The Ghost of the Girl in the Well and River In the Pines from the marvellous “Regard the End” he sang masterfully, totally at one with the lyrics and melody.

On tracks where he upped the tempo – Soft Hand and Flying Low (Steve Wynn joined in for this) – the vocals were honeyed and languid, effortless. It was only when extra power was brought to the proceedings that his voice got somewhat lost. And that was a pity. Having said that, the cranked-up output yielded some cracking moments. Title track from the new album, “Let It Roll” is a bit lumpen and listless on CD but here it thundered on not unlike The Bad Seeds pushing and pulling, spitting and firing between Fisher’s almost spoken verses. The band – Jason Victor(lead guitar); Josh Hillman (violin); Yuko Murata(keyboards); Erik Van Loo(upright and electric bass) and drummer Tom King – were excellent throughout and they thrived on Fisher’s arrangements. At one point, he quizzed his music’s placing in the Americana/alt.country category and said he preferred a friend’s description on their music as “folk, garage.” Whatever. What delights he’ll return with later in the year, we can’t wait to find out.

From www.americana-uk.com

Willard Grant Conspiracy with Steve Wynn at Dingwalls, London, UK

This is pretty much the perfect double bill, and is shared by friends and played to people whom love both artistes to their very core. Steve Wynn is a Californian who lives in New York, and who plays like his life depends on it, always. There is no such thing as a bad Wynn album or gig. Tonight, he opens for his friend and fellow Californian, Willard Grant Conspiracy front man Robert Fisher, with whom he recently co-wrote a song 'Flying Low', which appears on that band's sixth and latest album 'Let It Roll' and which they later jointly play together. Steve arrives on stage and delivers a reading accompanying himself with just an acoustic guitar of his normal closing number, 'The Days of Wine and Roses', which was the title track of his former band the Dream Syndicate's first full length album back in 1982. This version has a riffy feel and recalls the Smiths 'Barbarism Begins at Home'. After this he is joined by Jason Victor, who plays in his current backing band the Miracle 3 and who is also the guitarist in the latest line-up of the Willard Grant Conspiracy. Steve tells us, that he is feeling nostalgic tonight because Dingwalls is the first place that the Dream Syndicate ever played, without a soundcheck, when they first toured the United Kingdom back in 1984. Steve and Jason then play a song that the Dream Syndicate probably played that night, 'Merritville'. Jason also plays the acoustic guitar. The song is played well and sounds smooth compared to its recorded version. Willard Grant Conspiracy double bassist Eric Van Loo then comes on the stage, and Steve tells us that when Robert asked him to join the tour he knew it would be good because they would share the same musicians. They then go traight into 'Wild Mercury' from '...tick... tick...tick...', Stve's latest album. They then launch into the Dream Syndicate's 'There Will Come a Day', upon which Steve confesses to us all that he "likes to mix all my seven deadly sins up in one as that way you dont get a hangover". 'Turning of the Tide' follows and then keyboard player Yuko Murata joins for 'The Deep End', a song about the positive side of drowning !!! Violinist Josh Hillman joins the stage, and they play another old Dream Syndicate number, 'The Medicine Show'. 'Carolyn' follows from the first Steve Wynn solo CD, 'Kerosene Man'. The whole thing comes to a close with the full-on guitar attack of 'Amphetamine' which sounds like an acoustic Velvet Underground with Cale on viola. It is pretty near perfect, and this is the warm up. The Willard Frant Conspiracy are not a band you just stumble on. They normally come to you via word of mouth. I have been seeing them since 1999 through, of course, a friend's word of mouth. Robert Fisher is a big guy with a dark heart and a lovely humanity to him,. Tonight he thanks everyone whom stopped by to introduce themselves at the merchandise stall, where he spent ages signing CDs for just about everyone in the venue. He tells us that this "is the biggest living room I have ever had" and announces that are going to play a lot of material from the new album which they previewed on the road before finally recording, but they in fact open with an old song, 'Sticky'. The second song 'No Such Thing as Clean' he tells us is about "toxic things like people and substances" and is a hard edged rocker with big drums. The song that follows this, 'The Trials of Harrison Hayes', is about a coal-mining snake-handling minister and ancestor of Robert's who drank strychine and which goes down very well. 'The Ghost of the Girl in the Well', a dark tale about a slave girl's death after following down a well and which like 'The Trials of Harrison Hayes' comes from the band's previous album 'Regard the End' which came out in 2003, follows and recieves big cheers. It features heavy viola from Josh Hillman that has you almost in tears. Robert's strumming assists this well. His vocal is drawn out and slow, while Yuko's keyboards float in and out. 'Skeleton' has a dancey feel and this is followed by garage rock track 'Crush', which like the previous track comes from the new album. Robert explains beforehand that a friend of the band's in Brighton was fed up with the Willard Grant Conspiracy being described by critics as an Americana act and decided to call them a "Folk garage" act. While 'Crush' represents the garage side of what they do, the next track, 'River in the Pines',which appeared on their first album, is from their folk side. 'The Ostrich Song', which follows, from their long deleted first ever album '3am at Sunday Otto Fortune's', is delivered slowly and is well received. Next up is 'Lady of the Snowline', the last track from the new album, which is about fading away and meeting one's maker. 'From A Distant Shore' follows which is the first track on 'Let It Roll' and is an anti war song. Steve Wynn then comes back on stage for a fantastic live version of 'Flying Low'. 'The Ballad of John Parker', from the band's 2001 fourth album 'Everything's Fine', follows and is a heavy bass and drum-based track that is as dark as Nick Cave and has an elegant and head banging cool. Robert says "Thank you for coming out to see us, because you could be doing something else" and then the band launches into the epic and hard-rocking title track from the new CD, 'Let It Roll'. At the end, when the band have stopped playing, Robert carries on singing, his voice howling the chorus over and over again. Still the band return, this time with 'Dance with Me', a slow number with a sad violin,again from the new album. They finish off the night with 'How to Get to Heaven', a murder ballad from their 1999 third album 'Mojave'. which has a great groove and more promises of meet and greets at the merchandise stall. A great band and a great night !   Anthony Strutt from www.pennyblackmusic.com