Wonderful things sometimes sprout from humble beginnings. As James Blackshaw took to the stage, he could easily have been mistaken for someone who’d entered the wrong room in the Albert’s warren; briefly disorientated before remembering his friends were downstairs.

 

With a mumbled introduction, Blackshaw opened with a series of harmonic slabs of noise, which would signal the start of an otherworldly voyage, enveloping the room and everyone in it. By the time he gently segued into The Glass Bead Game’s “The Cross”, it was clear that this was a ride that no-one would want to get off.

 

Blackshaw’s compositions are the epitome of a journey, or better yet, an adventure: starting somewhere safe and familiar, taking the listener off and away into the unknown, exotic or alien. You’d think the formula would grow tired, but the outing is different every time; destinations always unique – be they a white wall of frantic 12 string fingerpicking, a spirit-affirming melody or a seemingly impossible chord change.

 

Over the course of 50 minutes, Blackshaw played 5 songs of celestial grace and sonic sculpture; transfixing the audience, transforming the room from modestly populated to near overflowing and transmitting a sound so beautiful that the inhabitants of the Albert were spellbound.

 

Next came the travelling man, Michael Chapman, it was apparent both through his stories of America and through his playing that the road is a big part of him. His guitar style is very much rooted in folk, but flavours of blues and jazz are expertly inserted to add spice and variety. It’s also clear that Chapman’s years of touring the world have been well used to observe his constantly changing surroundings and applied to his craft – he’s truly at home on stage, reflected in his almost seamless transitions between songs – whether they be carefully constructed medleys (“a bunch of songs I just stuck together”) or perfectly cued up by a pertinent tale.

 

The highlight of his set probably came in the form of “That time of night” – penned by Chapman, but later covered by Lucinda Williams – a fact he’s rightly proud of. Even with his slightly dour delivery, the song still shone through.

All in all, it was a great night for the acoustic guitar – delivered by two masters who illustrated some of the routes it can be taken, and hopefully inspiring others to take it down a few more.