Ethan Johns best know for his work as a producer for Ryan Adams. Laura Marling, Rufus Wainwright and Kings of Leon amongst others and son of world famous producer Glyns Johns, was in town last night but this time, with his singer/songwriter hat on.
This really was a very intimate show. Around forty to fifty seated patrons. House lights up all the way through and the nice studio like setting of the new and improved Portland Arms venue in
Seventy Five minutes just flew by. Songs mainly accompanied on acoustic and electric guitar “the piano was too big to fit in the van”. Ethan (a soon to be ex-smoker, as the conversations went during the evening) seemed very at ease as he ran through songs from his current album, next album, and some covers including, Time (The Revelator) by Gillian Welch, (with added Ryan Adams story as to how this could have been on ‘Heartbreaker album).
He did say towards the end of the show that his friend Laura Marling, being a woman of logic, has begun a trend: she doesn’t perform encores. So he doesn’t perform encores either.
Instead he just say’s this is the last song after which, he plays a cover from a album Ethan produced for Howard Eliott Payne (of the Stands), called Bright Light Ballads back in 2009 (for which studio time, Howard sold a vintage guitar he owned). This song actually closed the set, without him leaving the stage. All very civilised.
So, here’s looking forward to the next album which Ethan is recording shortly.
Pete