Beth Rowley At St James's Church

Last night we went to see Beth Rowley play at St James's Church, just off Piccadilly (which was, apparently designed by Sir Christopher Wren and the church where William Blake was baptised). It's an odd venue for a gig, the main church laid out for a Sunday service with old pews, and upstairs the balcony (where we went) was full of fixed pews with little chance to see the singer in front of the altar (well, you don't necessarily want to stare at a vicar, do you?). Beth didn't always seem that comfortable, with everyone sitting on pews and not moving while she was on the little platform in front of the altar. It was an impressive sight, all lit up, but not necessarily the best place for a gig. I used to work round the corner from the church in St James's Square back in the '80s.

Beth was supported by two folkie acts, Vashti and a bloke who flew in from Los Angeles the day before. Neither inspired me to buy their CDs afterwards. Beth came on at 9pm and looked nervous and fidgety, fidgeting with her strapless frock and not knowing whether to move or to stand still. But when she opened her mouth we all listened and marvelled at her strong and flexible voice. She didn't seem comfortable at all during the first few songs and only settled down a bit when Vashti came on to sing backing vocals - I wonder if also having somone at the front of the 'stage' is what helped her calm down a bit, so she wasn't necessarily carrying everything herself? But, of course, she still was.

She sang about half of the tracks from her album, 'Little Dreamer' (plus the song, 'Little Dreamer' which, strangely, isn't on the album), some new songs (which sounded a lot more cheerful and poppier than the album) and some spirituals. It was an odd selection of songs in some respects and strangely put together with a stonking extended version of 'Only One Cloud' finishing the main act and then playing a couple of comparaively downbeat spirituals for the encore - always leave 'em on a high, Beth, leave 'em wanting more (as Mama Rose says in 'Gypsy').

Beth has the voice of an angel but just doesn't seem comfortable out front as the star of the show. The band was tight and going down a bluesy route which perfectly fits Beth's voice, but it still needs her doing her stuff at the front. And if the new songs are planned for the next album it'll be a corker, since they were really good. It'll be interesting to see how she develops - Beth's clearly a very talented singer but where's she going?