Teddy Thompson turns heartache into high craft at St George’s Bristol
Words & Photos: Images by Ellis
★★★★☆
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There was a fitting elegance to seeing Teddy Thompson in the acoustically blessed surroundings of St George’s Bristol. Touring ‘Never Be The Same’ – his first collection of original material since 2020 – the London-born, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter arrived not as a grandstanding showman, but as a curator of melancholy, with Ellie Gowers in support.
Photo: Images by Ellis / Teddy Thompson
Gowers warmed up proceedings beautifully, charming the gathering audience with an acoustic set that included songs from her 2024 ‘You, The Passenger’ EP, with its tales drawn from travels to Nova Scotia and beyond. The early arrivers were rewarded with a new song, ‘Dachshund’, plus an invitation to join in on the chorus of ‘The Stars Are Ours’. With more new material due to be aired on her November UK tour, she is definitely someone to catch on the live circuit.
Thompson’s own set placed ‘Never Be The Same’ squarely in the foreground, launching into its first three songs in succession. The whole album was aired in the set, showcasing what Thompson does best: stories of love and longing, delivered with melancholy, understatement and dry humour.
The soulful arrangements of the record took on a different shape here. Thompson was supported by Chris Jones who multitasked on drums, occasional keys and string samples. Nephew Zak Hobbs was mesmerising on guitar, making his Stratocaster sing on the standout ‘Delilah’, and he stole the show with a haunting solo on ‘A Step Behind’.
The rest of the set drew from his extensive catalogue, right back to his debut eponymous album of 2000. It was an interesting selection that eschewed the obvious choices like ‘Persuasion’ and ‘Looking For A Girl’ in favour of more obscure tracks.
Teddy Thompson is something of an enigma on stage – charming, funny and self-deprecating between songs, yet almost distant in his delivery, eyes fixed in a thousand-yard stare as he sings some of the most finely crafted songs you’ll hear.
We were treated to the jaunty confession of ‘Can’t Sing Straight’, then ‘A Piece of What You Need’ – a song that Thompson said he’s avoided singing in the past because he had wrongly thought it wouldn’t work live. His clear tenor, capable of the occasional falsetto lift, is perfect for his trademark brand of raw and emotional storytelling.
If, at only an hour long, the main set left us hungry for more, the encore was perfectly judged. ‘So This Is Heartache’ was performed solo: stripped back to the raw essentials it showed why it is the highlight of the new album. Next, the band returned to take us back twenty years to the understated ‘Shine So Bright’, before ‘In My Arms’ sent us home with the sort of melody that really should have made him far more than a cult treasure.