Young Gun Silver Fox - London Review

If Robert Jon & The Wreck are 2023's main discovery, then the British/American yacht rock duo Young Gun Silver Fox were my main find of 2022. I am a member of an excellent #nowplaying-esque Facebook group - and one of its members recommended the band to me after I had posted that I had been listening to a few yacht rock classics. Yacht rock is very much rooted in a certain period (the late 1970s to the early 1980s), so finding out that it was still being made today was a real treat. I picked up a copy of 2020's Canyons off the back of the recommendation, and it is fair to say that I was hooked from the off. Over the next few months I picked up their other three albums, including last year's excellent Ticket to Shangri-La (which I reviewed here), and they were on such regular rotation on my iPod that I ended up taking them off it for fear of burning myself out. Seeing them live was the next step, but the band are more of a project so have not always been the most active when it comes to playing live. Luckily for me, though, it seems that the duo want to grow the band further - and 2023 has seen quite a bit of live activity. The band undertook their first proper UK tour earlier in the year, and I headed up to London to catch them at a sold out Lafayette in January. I had expected to have a good time, but they really impressed live. I was not sure how the band's multi-layered sound, particularly vocally, would be easily replicated live - but the live arrangements of the songs worked really well, and the Lafayette show was a real highlight of the early months of the year. The atmosphere in the sold out room was excellent from the off, and the band's feel-good music filled the newer venue - leaving no-one disappointed. Given the band's relatively sparse live activity, I did not expect that I would be seeing the band again live so soon - but a few months after the tour they announced a one-off UK show at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, which was billed as their biggest UK headline show to date. As it fell on a Saturday, I just knew that I had to get a ticket. I was not sure when my next opportunity to see the band would come, either, so tickets were snapped up right away - and another trip to London was added to 2023's calendar. Despite being a regular visitor to Camden, I have actually not been to the Electric Ballroom that many times - although my last trip came back in February. I have always enjoyed nights out there, though, but it seemed a bit grungy for Young Gun Silver Fox considering the nice surrounds of the Lafayette! Being a Saturday, too, the show was an early one. The doors opened at bang on 6pm, and everything was wrapped up by 9:45pm. I enjoy an early finish in truth, as it means that there is generally little time for hanging around during the night. The early start meant that the place took a bit of time to fill up, though, so I was a bit worried at first that the turn out was going to be poor. This proved not to be the case, though, and by the time Young Gun Silver Fox hit the stage at 8pm the place was pretty full.

Before Young Gun Silver Fox's set, though, the growing crowd was treated to 30 or so minutes of music from Emma Noble - a powerful singer who certainly seemed popular with portions of the crowd. I was unfamiliar with her work, and on paper she probably is not really my thing, but she impressed from the off. This set seemed to feature a smaller band and more stripped back arrangements than is usual for her, but the four musicians which accompanied her made a big sound for what was essentially an acoustic set - and her soulful material came across well in that format despite it perhaps lacking some of the power of the typical bigger arrangements. Noble's sound seemed to be a mix of soul, disco, and pop - all wrapped up in a bit of a yacht rock twist thanks to the liberal use of electric piano and the tight vocal harmonies. It was all very rooted in the 1970s, and she even had the afro to match, but her take on the style sounded fresh - and her vocal delivery was perhaps more 'modern' in approach. She did not sing in a particularly overwrought manner, and her more simplistic take on soul worked really well for me. There was a little bit of bite there vocally, too, which helped to add a rocky edge to the material - even in the more acoustic manner in which is was presented last night. The piano tended to be the driving force, but the rhythmic acoustic guitar playing added plenty of depth - with percussion and the occasional flute melody rounding the sound out. It helped, too, that all of the songs played were hooky. From memory, everything played had a pretty big chorus - and Noble's vocal melodies in general were just memorable. Some of the phrasing and melodies used were a bit different from the norm, but this only helped the songs to stand out further - and the vocal melodies from a couple of the band members helped to bulk out the sound. There is nowhere to hide during a more stripped back set, but the singing from all involved was great - and hearing live vocal harmonies done so well is always a treat, no matter the genre of music. It is always a good sign when you are disappointed when an unknown support act finishes their set. I would have happily listened to another couple of Noble's songs, so her and her band certainly did a good job of warming up the crowd - and I am intrigued to check her out further as I am intrigued to hear how these songs are 'supposed' to sound with her usual 10-piece backing.

Whilst Noble had received a strong reception, when Young Gun Silver Fox walked on to the stage to Rocky's famous training music the Electric Ballroom erupted. By this point the place was packed, and the large crowd were ready to for the band to smash through a 19-song set which covered all four of their studio albums. Andy Platts (vocals/keyboards) and Shawn Lee (guitar/percussion/vocals) were joined by their regular drummer Adrian Meehan (who had recently broken his right foot so had essentially re-learnt the whole set playing the bass drum with his left foot), a bassist who's name I did not catch, and a three-man horn section made up of Graeme Blevins (saxophone/flute), Tom Walsh (trumpet), and Nichol Thomson (trombone). Thomson and Walsh are regular studio collaborators with the band, and Thomson arranges the band's horns. It was great that Young Gun Silver Fox were able to be joined by their regular horn collaborators for this special show - and the seven-piece band made their full power felt from the off with the sultry, harder rocking Still Got It Goin' On. The pulse of the horns only upped the song's power, but the mix throughout the set was excellent - which meant that the intricacies of the music could be heard. Platts' voice was high in the mix, and the harmonising between him, Lee, and the bass player were on point throughout the night. The chorus of Kids showcased this, with Blevins' flute adding playful melodies, but really every song played was done so immaculately. The live versions of the songs might not be as layered as their studio counterparts, but all of the key elements are included - with Platts varied keyboard playing and the delicate guitar melodies of Lee doing much of the heavy lifting. Early on, the poppy tracks came thick and fast. The Boz Scaggs-esque West Side Jet had everyone grooving, but perhaps the first massive sing-a-long came with Rolling Back - one of the highlights of last year's album. It contains easily the poppiest chorus from the band yet, and everyone in the venue was singing along. The show had been great up to this point, but it seemed to get even more powerful afterwards.

You Can Feel It was stretched out a little to include a bit of crowd participation, whilst the more acoustic rendition of the ballad Sierra Nights benefitted from the excellent mix. It is not one of my favourites from the recent album, but the live arrangement works really well - and was rounded out by a brief flute solo. Another highlight for me was a powerful rendition of the recent single Moonshine - which Platts wrote a number of years ago with the late Rod Temperton. The setlist was essentially the same as the Lafayette show - with Moonshine being the only addition. It was a great addition, though, and the it allowed the horn section another chance to earn their stripes. Perhaps their crowning moment, though, was during an elongated version of Simple Imagination, which included extended solos from all of the players in the horn section. This turned the song into a proper wig out, and one of the few moments where those on stage really cut loose. Generally the band's songs are tight, focusing on melody, but the looser live arrangement of Simple Imagination worked well and it added a different vibe to the show. Everything that followed felt like a victory lap, and by this point there was not a huge amount of time left. The best was left until last, though, and the closing three songs from 2018's AM Waves showcased the best of Platts' and Lee's songwriting. The pulsing piano of Underdog had everyone singing along, but it was the chorus of Lenny which had the Electric Ballroom going wild - whilst the harder rocking romp of Lolita brought the main set to a close. The band did leave the stage, but they were behind the curtain for mere seconds before the cheering brought them back out for two more. The sultry Tip of the Flame was a fun addition to the set, but it was the night-closing rendition of Kingston Boogie which sent everyone home happy. The horn section added plenty of class to the track, and there was plenty of dancing going on around me during the massive chorus - which is another of the band's best. It was a great end to a fantastic set, and the huge crowd made their feelings felt as the band took their bows. 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

Moonshine

Baby Girl

Simple Imagination

Long Way Back

Love Guarantee

Underdog

Lenny

Lolita

-

Tip of the Flame

Kingston Boogie

Getting the opportunity to see Young Gun Silver Fox twice this year has been a real treat. I am really hoping that the band keep up their recent level of live activity, and the large Electric Ballroom crowd shows that they are doing something right. From the stage the band said that when the next time that they come back to play comes around they will have a new album out, so I am already looking forward to hearing that whenever it is ready. The four albums so far have all been great, and the band are excellent live - so I will definitely be in attendance next time they tour the UK.