Gig review: Tyler Ramsey at Rise, York
The Band of Horses lead guitarist and songwriter proves a down-to-earth musician with a luminous talent in an intimate setting.
As North Carolina guitarist and songwriter Tyler Ramsey breezes into town, a storm named Dave is buffeting the shopfronts and terraces of Acomb and rattling at the door of Rise – bakery by day, venue by night – the suburban outpost of the York music scene which lends itself perfectly to special and intimate gigs like this.
Taking shelter from the gathering storm, a packed room is being held spellbound by opening act Neve Cariad, a Leeds-based Welsh singer-songwriter with a quietly mesmeric voice. Her set builds gently to a strummed climax which sees her dig into her upper register and reveals the musical heft that recently saw her open for indie heroes English Teacher with her band.
Tyler Ramsey is currently on a long solo tour, armed with just a backpack and two acoustic guitars (which are working hard to accommodate the ever-shifting tunings he uses). A tall, bearded figure, his long fingers draw magic from his strings, with rich warm tones, flawless fingerpicked rhythms and cascading runs of chords.
Though his career includes an unexpected detour on to rock’s big stages, spending ten years with rootsy indie rockers Band Of Horses, his heart is clearly in settings like this, and he has a brace of solo albums to draw upon, including the recent New Lost Ages.
Tonight really lends itself to the material from Celestun, his lovely acoustic duo album with Carl Broemel from My Morning Jacket, whose instrumental title track and the song for Ramsey’s daughter, Flying Things, are highlights.
These days Ramsey juggles being on the road with what sounds like an idyllic rural family life in the mountains of North Carolina – give or take the bears and the occasional hurricane. He’s certainly lived some contrasts – his anecdotes tonight range from being inspired by his family bedtime stories to having a barney with legendary producer Glyn Johns (by way of intro to a rearrangement of Band of Horses’ Everything’s Gonna Be Undone).
Where Were You? pushes his voice into uncannily Neil Young-like territory with its blend of troubled soulful lyrics and beautiful melody lines (a glass of red wine is delivered to the stage to help lubricate his vocal chords in reward). He’s resigned to the Young comparisons, dropping in a cover of Down By The River after joking about having accidentally borrowed its chord sequence.
A down-to-earth musician with a luminous talent, and a real treat to see in such a close-up setting, Ramsey mixes appreciatively with his fans afterwards and, as he sets out on the next leg of his tour, I imagine that backpack will be lighter by a good few signed records.