An Old Review brought upto date

THIS REVIEW WAS WRITTEN IN 2009, BEFORE LITTLE WING WERE ESTABLISHED AS A REGULAR FIXTURE IN THE PUBS OF SOUTHPORT, BEFORE THE ALBUM HAD BEEN RECORDED, BEFORE THEY HAD PLAYED WITH KAPPA AND WHEN EVERYONE CALLED THEM BABY BUT IT DIDN'T OCCUR TO THEM TO MIND! BUT IT IS PART OF THEIR HISTORY, IT RECORDS THAT TIME AND PLACE AND ALSO SHOWS HOW FAR THEY HAVE COME SINCE. SO SIT BACK AND TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE...

What do you do with yourself on a lazy, sunny, Sunday afternoon/evening? A solution to this age old question is get yourself to Fuegos in Stanley Street, Southport for an extraordinary evening of fine food and even finer music.

Fuegos is an authentic Mexican restaurant with some of the best food I have eaten (outside of Mexico). The ceilings are low, the flooring is wooden, the colours are rich and earthy and it feels just like a Canteena tucked down the side streets of Cuernavaca or Mexico City. However, my only criticism in the past has been the accompanying CD of Latino mix Coldplay on a loop. However those days have gone for good!

Instead, every last Sunday of the month, sees Fuegos hosting an acoustic night with two of Southport’s most talented musicians - Little Wing. Paul Mullen and Adrian Gautrey deliver a powerful, emotive and at times, haunting performance. They switch effortlessly from old to new, Country to Rock. Nothing fazes them. They appear to be so at ease with their instruments, they seem an extension of themselves. Several times, Adrian swapped between acoustic and electric, yet it took several bars to realise he had done so.

Although Paul and Adrian are a relatively new partnership, they are so tight it is truly magical to watch. Adrian's fingers being dubbed 'WD40' by one of the diners! They are so obviously in tune with the music, their instruments and each other there is something really quite mystical about watching the process before your eyes.

Fantastic tune followed fantastic tune as all the greats from a range of genres were delivered. It is hard to pick a highlight, but for me the raw emotion in the Ocean Colour Scene 'Robin Hood' was tangible. A packed restaurant of hungry diners were induced to ignore the fabulous food on offer to give full attention to a song that resonated off the wood and seemed to get under everyone's skin. The Cohen classic 'Hallelujah' runs a close second. Paul's previous attempt to sing this having been overshadowed by an overzealous audience member taking to the mic and refusing to relinquish it! No such issue tonight and verse after verse of this beautiful song washed over the receptive listeners. And of course, no set is complete without my all time favourite 'You do something to me' courtesy of Mr Paul Weller.

But the night was far from complete and with great anticipation the audience waited for some original material. They were not to be disappointed. Paul delivered a heartfelt performance of a song that he wrote ten years ago. Although he warned the audience that it 'isn't a barrel of laughs', when the lyrics are well written and the melody so engaging the content just carries you with it. Why this man has taken so long to perform his own material is beyond me. I hope this is the start of far more original material being included in future set lists.

As for Adrian, not only can this man swap effortlessly between electric and acoustic, he drops into harmonies as if it is second nature. He isn’t afraid to take on lead vocals and he was joined by his girlfriend, as they performed a truly beautiful and haunting version of Killing the Blues (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss). The air was electric and you could have heard a pin drop. Deserts and drinks lay untouched as the lyrics and the music did their magic.

We wait with great excitement as this duo head to the recording studio to capture some of their original material. I anticipate a rush when the CD's are finally ready. So much so, I've pre-ordered my copy!

So what do you do with yourself on a lazy, sunny, Sunday? Get yourself to Feugos.

AND THE GOOD NEWS IS, YOU STILL CAN! EVERY LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH. BE WARNED THOUGH, THERE'S A HARDCORE GROUP OF FANS WHO PRE-BOOK RELIGIOUSLY SO GET IN EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT! NEXT GIG MARCH 28TH AND IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO, PICK UP A COPY OF THE ALBUM, YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

LITTLE WING HAVE CONTINUED THEIR MUSICAL JOURNEY WITH A BRILLIANT DEBUT ALBUM 'ALCHEMY IN THE GARDEN', THEY'VE PLAYED WITH KAPPA AND THERE ARE RUMOURS OF MORE MATERIAL AND MAYBE A SECOND TRIP TO THE RECORDING STUDIOS... WE WATCH AND WAIT...