Young Gun Silver Fox - London Review

Probably my favourite musical discovery of last year was the retro yacht rock duo Young Gun Silver Fox. I have been developing a love of many of the genre's 1970s and 1980s classics over the past few years, and Young Gun Silver Fox were recommended to me by someone in a #nowlistening-esque Facebook group after seeing that I had posted a number of albums by the likes of The Doobie Brothers, Daryl Hall & John Oates, and Christopher Cross. I had thought that yacht rock was generally something confined to the past, but one listen to Canyons, Young Gun Silver Fox's third album from 2020, showed me that there was at least one band keeping the genre alive and well in the 21st century. I picked up the band's other albums as quickly as I could, and pre-ordered their fourth album Ticket to Shangri-La - which was released back in October. As I devoured the band's catalogue so quickly, it is likely that Young Gun Silver Fox were one of my most-listened artists in 2022 - and 2023 has certainly started off in a similar fashion, as this past Friday I headed up to London to catch the band live for the first time. I get the impression that both of Young Gun Silver Fox's main men, Andy Platts (vocals/keyboards) and Shawn Lee (guitar/percussion/vocals), see the duo as something of a side project - or at least one of the many projects which they have on the go - so extensive touring is not generally on their radar. 2023 does promise to be quite busy for the band on the live front, though. They recently announced their first ever run of US shows, but the year kicked off with a short UK tour - which launched two days ago in London. The venue of choice was the Lafayette - a new venue for me, which opened in 2020 as part of some redevelopment behind King's Cross station. Being primarily a hard rock and metal fan, the Lafayette was a far cry from many of the London venues which I regularly visit. It was one of the nicest venues that I have ever been to, with posh food and drinks on sale, and everything just seemed so clean and well looked after - which is generally not the case! In fairness, the venue is only a couple of years old taking the pandemic into account, but even so - and I was impressed with the place. Looking at its website, though, I very much doubt that I will be returning there any time soon. Unsurprisingly, no hard rock or metal bands are currently booked to appear at the venue - and I very much doubt that any will in the future. That is just not the vibe that the venue is going for - but it was great to experience the place at least once. I also looked rather out of place at the show, too, with my long hair, cowboy boots, and Mercyful Fate t-shirt. I am clearly at the fringe of Young Gun Silver Fox's fanbase - but that is fine, and it is good to enjoy music that falls outside of one's typical comfort zone. I did not feel out of place, though, as everyone was just there to have a great time - and as such the atmosphere was excellent throughout the night.

Before Young Gun Silver Fox's set, though, the growing crowd - which was officially sold out - was treated to half an hour or so of acoustic music from the duo Ederlezi. Consisting of Hannah Nicholson (vocals), whom I saw around a decade or so ago playing a few shows with Mostly Autumn, and David Page (vocals/guitar), whom would later also resurface as Young Gun Silver Fox's bassist, Ederlezi's music was generally quite simple - but the vocal interplay between the two gave the impression of a fuller sound. Those who know me well will know that I am not generally a fan of earnest acoustic singer-songwriter types, but, for me, Ederlezi had a bit more about them than is typical. I think that the vocal interplay was a big part of it, as, whilst Nicholson certainly took the lead, Page's harmonies and occasional lead vocals helped to add quite a bit of depth to what could have otherwise been quite a bland set. In truth, though, Ederlezi are not the sort of thing that I would listen to myself - but the fact that I can still say positive things about their set shows that they are genuinely a good act. I have sat through quite a few singer-songwriter sets over the years and have generally been bored, but I was not bored at all throughout Ederlezi's set. There was always something interesting about the songwriting or the vocal arrangement to enjoy - and it was nice to see them get a strong reception from the crowd, although, in truth, the rest of the crowd was more likely to be receptive to their music than I was. Ederlezi did not overstay their welcome, either, and 30 or so minutes of their music was certainly a pleasant way to spend my time waiting for the main event. It was also nice to see what Nicholson is up to these days, given her brief association with one of my all-time favourite bands.

As there was not much to clear following Ederlezi's sparse set, Young Gun Silver Fox hit the stage around 20 minutes later. Whilst the band are essentially a duo in the studio, the live version of Young Gun Silver Fox is a larger beast. For this show at least, Platts and Lee were joined by Page, drummer Adrian Meehan, and the two-man horn section of Graeme Blevins (saxophone/flute) and Mike Davis (trumpet). The six musicians did a great job of bringing the band's layered music to life on stage, and what struck me from the off was how clear the sound was throughout the venue. The Lafayette has clearly been designed well, but also the sound engineer certainly knew what they were doing - as every subtle backing vocal and horn stab was perfectly audible. This was the case from the word go, too, and this meant that the band roared straight out of the blocks. All four of Young Gun Silver Fox's albums were featured in the set, but focus was rightly placed on Ticket to Shangri-La - although 2018's AM Waves also featured heavily. The show opened as the latest album does, with Still Got It Goin' On, with Platts' keyboard stabs and the snaking harder rock riffing of Lee, before full-blown yacht rock territory was established with Kids - whilst Blevins brought Boz Scaggs' Lowdown to mind during the chorus with his spiky flute lines. Also Scaggs-esque, the smooth West Side Jet was an early highlight, though. I was amazed throughout just how well Lee and Page harmonised well with Platts. Given some of the big vocal arrangements found on the albums, I did wonder if the live show would suffer somewhat in that regard. The harmonies were great, though, and Midnight in Richmond perfectly showed them off - and was probably my favourite song of the first portion of the set thanks to its hooky chorus and perfect groove.

Another early winner, too, was the unashamed pop of Rolling Back - one of the highlights of the latest album. Many of the hooks in Young Gun Silver Fox's songs are on the subtle side, but Rolling Back just goes all-out - and I imagine that it will be a setlist staple going forward. Around the mid-point of the set, another big stand-out for me was the stripped down arrangement of Sierra Nights. It was sparser than its album counterpart, with Meehan on the congas and Lee on the acoustic guitar, but it worked really well - and segued nicely into the ultra-hooky Mojo Rising with its infectious chorus and perfect smoothness. Whilst the crowd were on-side from the off, by this point everyone in the room was in raptures. Perhaps the most impressive number of the night elevated the raptures further, and that was Simple Imagination - which was stretched out to include lots of soloing from the horn section. Blevins' saxophone solo was excellent, and Davis also impressed with a lengthy trumpet spot. It was the only real moment of the set that saw the band genuinely cutting loose, and it worked really well to allow everyone to work up a sweat before the final few numbers. It was the final three songs of the set that then impressed the most, though. The pulsing Underdog, with Platts' off-kilter chorus keyboards, the laid back and funky Lenny, and the slightly harder rocking Lolita brought the main set to a triumphant close - with Lenny in particularly being one of my favourites of the night overall thanks to its excellent chorus. The 10pm curfew had almost been reached at this point, but the band still managed to squeeze in a two-song encore. The new Tip of the Flame was given its first live airing, which went down the storm, but it was the old favourite Kingston Boogie that really brought the house down - and ensured everyone went home happy with its earworm of a chorus ringing around the venue as everyone filed out afterwards. The setlist was:

Still Got It Goin' On

Kids

West Side Jet

Midnight in Richmond

Long Distance Love Affair

Rolling Back

You Can Feel It

Sierra Nights

Mojo Rising

Baby Girl

Simple Imagination

Long Way Back

Love Guarantee

Underdog

Lenny

Lolita

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Tip of the Flame

Kingston Boogie

Considering that I have been into the band for less than a year, and the fact that they do not play live too often, it was great getting to see Young Gun Silver Fox live for the first time on Friday. Seeing a band live always helps me get into them even more, and I can only see my already large appreciation for Young Gun Silver Fox growing following this excellent gig. The setlist was pretty much perfect for me, containing nearly all of my favourite songs, and the musicianship on the stage throughout was stellar. Lee's occasional guitar solos were tasteful, whilst the explosive horn section added a great edge to all of the songs of which they were a part. Young Gun Silver Fox are definitely now of those bands whom I will be seeing whenever I get the opportunity to do so - and I am already looking forward to my next opportunity, whenever that will be.