Laura Gibson 07.04.10

Having caught Gibson’s brief yet memorable set at the Gate in Cardiff last year when she supported Alela Diane, ‘Spirited’ has been ringing melodically in my ears ever since. This is music of sparse beauty; exquisite yet simple arrangements with a strong yet understated voice at its core. She is easily a match for her peers and fellow Lauras, Veirs and Marling. Ably supported by her band, she performed songs mainly from her latest album ‘Beasts of Season’, woven nicely with stories between songs and and even an acapella experiment. Indeed, it was the song ‘Spirited’ that was the highlight in a lovely set that left me wanting more.

Port O'Brien's Van Pierszalowski and Nikolai

My oh my, Port O’Brien have had a rough time recently. Having just completed a number of recent US dates, lead singer and founder member Van Pierszalowski received a phone call saying that their drummer and guitarist were not going to be joining them on the tour. Oh dear. Plan B…..a new guitarist Nikolai was hurriedly flown over from Norway and replacement drummer Tyson made it to Bristol via Hawaii. The show had to go on. What transpired was a rousing set of edgy, meloncholic alt-folk. When Van sings of fishing boats and awful weather, this is understandable. During the summer months, he works on his father’s commercial fishing boat in Alaska. A part of the world that clearly provides inspiration for their songs, as well as the name of the band. Sure, as a band that has just been put together, they took a few songs to warm up. When they hit their stride, it was unstoppable. The band clearly enjoying every minute of the performance. ‘Oslo Campfire’, ‘Leap Year’, ‘My Will Is Good’ & closing song ‘I Woke Up Today’ were definite highlights. In fact, I was happy to join them on stage during the final song to sing backing vocals along with a host of others.

Drummer Tyson during the final song stage invasion