Jonny Boyle.
I recently popped in to a favourite pub of mine called the Sanddancer in my home town of South Shields. I'd gone with the intention of having a few drinks with my brother and, after a few more, no doubt setting the world to rights in heated debate. It was a Friday and it must have slipped my mind that the Sanddancer has live music everyday of the weekend and as we entered an act was already in full swing. We grabbed a drink and settled down to see what this guy was about.
You can't fault the venue, the Sanddancer has always been a haven for new and established acoustic artists in the north east. Its setting right on the beach (not near, not down the road from, literally on) and its modern interior and seaside décor cements itself in the minds and culture of the people of Shields. The stage is set for the act to shine as you can guarantee that everyone in your audience is already having a good time just by being there.
I noticed that on each table there were promotional flyers with a professional looking head shot on one side. My brother Dan was quick to point out how pretentious this seemed and that he'd taken an immediate disliking to him. I personally found that to be a bit of a harsh stand to take, I mean how else are artists supposed to increase their fan base and industry presence without promoting themselves in ways such as this? I suppose the risk of a harsh minority seeing it as vain or pretentious is the price you pay for making the effort. The other side the flyer had an extensive list of covers that the audience could request at any time. If I had felt any uncertainty about Jonny Boyle as we arrived it was quickly dispelled after seeing that. The sheer number and variety of tracks he offered was astounding, it ranged from modern pop to bluegrass rock and nearly everything in between. I was impressed by the idea of it, giving people something to choose from and allowing them to request at any time made the gig a far more interactive and inclusive experience. So far it was all thumbs up for Mr. Boyle.
While I'd been inspecting the song choice and trying my best to ignore Dan's slack minded bigotry, Jonny was churning out the belters at a rate of knots. His ability on the guitar was faultless to my ears and he pounded a loop pedal with such precision and ingenuity that I was taken aback time and again. He announced that his next song would be a Creedence cover, at this point my enthusiasm took a blow as I was worried he would murder one of my favourite tracks of all time and I would have to add him to 'The List'. I was pleasantly surprised and while I'll always prefer the original, I enjoyed his imagining very much.
Anyway I'll wrap this review up as I'm sure its started to drag. There's no doubt in my mind that there is a future of continued success for Jonny Boyle. He offers more than your standard gig experience, he allows you to be part of the evening and shape the set as you like, rather than just have it happen to you. My advice to anyone hungry for a refreshing and hugely entertaining night out is to track him down, while he's still free.