Michael Weston King opens tonight with "Tim Hardin '65". Lucky enough to have seen King play twice already, the song, complete with an opening verse from Hardin's own "Black Sheep Boy", has the familiarity of a true classic on this occasion. If I close my eyes, it is tempting to believe that I am in a full auditorium holding at the very least a couple of hundred people, ideally a few thousand. But no, I find myself in the foyer bar of Glasgow's Tron Theatre, along with the usual gathering of the 'old faithful'.
That is not to knock the venue mind. In a way this intimate surround and its attentive audience suits King's songs perfectly. As he takes us through shattered home of "Broken", and the meditations on aging and performing and whole lot of other stuff that comprise new song "The Last Hurrah", in many ways there is no where else I'd rather be. But for King's own sake, and indeed for the sake of the tens of thousands of people who would also cherish these songs if only they could hear them, I can't help but wish for something more.
After all, his way with a crowd is effortless, punctuating the often downbeat subject matter of the songs themselves with tales of the road told with a dry humour (tonight Dortmund, of all places, comes in for a gentle bashing on more than one occasion). The man's love of music is blindingly obvious, from his appreciation of songwriters such as Hardin, T-Bone Burnett (whose "Anytime At All" recieves a rousing cover treatment), Townes Van Zandt (celebrated and mourned in another King classic "Lay Me Down") and even Bob Dylan (a heartfelt take on "Simple Twist of Fate" brings the night to a close).
There is a self-awareness to King as well, when it comes to both his immersion in American music, as in "The Englishman's Obsession With America (Part 2)", and his career thus far, exemplified by the searingly honest but in no way self-pitying "Alway the Bridesmaid".
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Of course, along with the lyrical craftmanship, there are tunes! Fleshed out tonight by Alan Cook's sterling contributions on dobro, mandolin and pedal steel, King is also blessed with a keen sense of melody, and the vocal chords to do it justice, as on the lump-in-throat, taking stock number "I Fall Behind".
He has recently recorded a new album, due in the new year, which will feature "The Last Hurrah" and a several other new songs aired this evening. "My Heart Stopped Today" is a pure country waltz honey dripper, which will apparently feature Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen on the finished product. "Only Seven Days" is lyrically one of King's more oblique offerings, with its 'only seven days left in the butterfly house' (or something along those lines) chorus. Stand out track though must be the anthemic "Here's the Plan", an infectious ode to records, dancing, and all the good stuff.
So, here is the plan: once you've read this review, make your way quick-fast to King's website (www.michaelwestonking.com, couldn't be simpler), pick up a copy of his solo career overview "The Tender Place" (and maybe the The Good Sons' compilation "Cosmic Fireworks" for good measure), and when that new album comes out make sure to catch him on tour, even if you have to travel some few miles to do so. Then, with a bit of luck, maybe twenty or thirty years down the line someone will write the tribute song that King himself deserves, about the songwriter whose perseverance paid off, eventually. In fact I may even go write it myself...
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