The last time I saw Laura Veirs play live was nearly four years ago at what was once The Hanbury Ballrooms (now Proud Brighton) shortly after the release of her 2010 album ‘July Flame’. At the time she was heavily pregnant with her first child ‘Tennessee’ and had to play with her guitar slung across her body sideways to avoid the ‘bump’. I was excited to see her play again, four years on with tracks from her more recent albums.
I’ve been a big fan of Laura Veirs’ music since her first Album ‘Troubled By The Fire’ (2003). Nine albums later, Laura Veirs returned to Brighton on her European tour with her brand new album ‘Warp & Weft’ which hosts intricate and wonderfully uplifting numbers such as ‘White Cherry’ & ‘Sun Song’ with tastes of early Veirs coming in with ‘Shape Shifter’ and ‘Ghosts of Louisville’. Supporting Laura Veirs was ‘Led To The Sea’, a solo violinist (who is also part of Veirs’ band) who used various effects and loop pedals to create her own symphony style performance. With both intriguing melodies and off beat lyrics Led To The Sea was a good opener for Veirs. Comically, she mistakenly opened her set with ‘Thank you for having me Bristol, it’s so good to be here!’ which provided plenty of comic banter later once the rest of Veirs’ band appeared on stage.

Laura Veirs took to the stage opening with ‘Sun Song’ the lead track from Warp & Weft. She continued with various tracks from both old albums and new which was a nice surprise as I find too often that artists disregard their older tracks after the release of a new album. Veirs’ music swirled with melancholic melodies driven by violin and quirky vocals. The sound the band created live was indeed mesmerising however, unfortunately the band didn’t seem quite as tight this time round as I’d remembered them being before. Maybe this is due to lack of sleep as Veirs revealed during this gig that her sixth-month old ‘Oz’ was travelling on tour with them. Either way, their onstage presence and execution of lines and melodies remain outstanding.

BrightonsFinest highly recommends buying a Laura Veirs album and to catch her live next year round. Albums We Recommend: July Flame, Saltbreakers, Troubled by The Fire.