Willy Porter/Luke Jackson - 18/04/2018 - Fulford Vh

Firm favourites of A500 Music, Luke Jackson and Willy Porter, returned to Stoke to play in this much anticipated. sold out double bill at Fulford.Canterbury's Luke Jackson was first to kick things off and even though he has graced the Fulford stage several times, he always seems to introduce something new or quirky to keep his performance fresh. 

Luke opened with a stripped back version of 'Anything but Fate', before reintroducing his audience to the emotive 'Last Train'; a song which describes the traumatic experience of a soldier returning from war.

Later in the set, Jackson was joined onstage by Willy Porter and together they performed two of Luke's newer songs, 'Amy' and 'Cherry Picker' with their vocals and guitar work combining exquisitely. Luke then sang something written specially for his much loved nan who had died earlier in the year. It was a song full of affection and special memories, which moved several people to tears. Luke continued with a melancholy cover of Sandy Denny's classic, 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes', before lifting us all once more with his rousing singalong finale, 'On the Road'.

Leaving the stage to rapturous applause, it was difficult to imagine that anyone could 'follow that' but you can always count on an artist of Willy Porter's musical stature to 'follow that', which he did with skill, passion, intelligence and humour.

Willy Porter has played several times at this venue but took this performance to another level. Included in his set was the iconic, 'How to Rob a Bank', with added verses to reflect his (not very flattering) opinion of Mr Trump! Willy then showed how he connects with his fans by dedicating his next song, 'Unconditional Love' to a couple in the audience who were expecting their fourth child. Digging further into his back catalogue, Willy then delighted the audience with two numbers from 'the Dog Eared Dream' album, including 'Watercolour Sunrise', which showcases Willy's thoughtful and insightful lyrics. 

As always, Porter's humour and good grace shone through, causing the audience to laugh with him, whilst also reflecting on more serious issues and it just wouldn't be a Willy Porter gig without his famous audience participation number, where random phrases and thoughts are thrown at him by the audience. 

A collection of ideas came his way including; 'Schrodinger's cat'; 'A Tree Fell on my House'; 'Simon and Jackie's wedding' and 'Where's your hat Willy?' To be able to think on his feet and come up with such a hilarious, yet well-crafted impromptu song, shows what great musical creativity the man possesses. 

To close the show, Luke joined Willy onstage once more to perform 'Chippewa Boots' and with the audience still roaring their approval, the pair returned one last time to play a cover of Richard Schindell's 'You Stay Here' … an encore to live long in the memory.