Newsom was backed here by a terrific interchanging three piece band, including her older brother Peter on drums. It helped add to the closeness of the gig. This felt like Joanna letting you in to watch her play in the front room of her house. Early into the gig she asked if someone backstage could shine a bigger, bolder, brighter light onto her harp strings; the stage almost being too intimate and close.
The set featured a number of tracks from the latest album, Divers, alongside older well-received songs like Soft as Chalk and Emily. Highlights of the evening included a stunning performance of the title track from the last album Have One On Me; a song rising and falling in beats, vocals and time signatures. This theme continues on the latest record with Sapokanikan; a woozy tale of the lost artists' district in Washington. Nods of appreciation must also go to the upbeat keyboard-led Goose Eggs and the repetitive harp pattering rhythms of Time, As A Symptom.
There was a minor hiccup when Joanna forgot a line in the middle of Have One On Me, explaining afterwards with a smile that "there's always one old song that catches me out, sorry!" Her humility and joyfulness met by thunderous applause throughout the show.
The encore of Baby Birch and Peach, Plum, Pear was greeted with sheer delight from the enthusiastic audience. The delicacy of the performance, the intricacies of the notes and the depth of the lyrics held the crowd in rapt attention. There are so many nuances to the records that it almost seems impossible to pull it off, yet Joanna manages it.
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