“I’m not doing this to be famous, I’m doing this to try and make great art.” So said Micah P. Hinson during his Komedia show, and it was a sentiment that rang true throughout a gripping and heartfelt set. He has previously described his recent album Presents the Holy Strangers as a “modern folk-opera”, with its dramatic tales of love, miracle births, deaths and suicides taking the listener on an emotional journey through rural Americana. Support on the night came from Kristin McClement (whose thoughtful folk sound was reminiscent at times of Linda Perhacs), and a low-key yet effective The Saxophones. Perhaps helped by fighting an end-of-tour illness throughout the show, The Saxophones delivered a beautifully fragile version of ‘Aloha’, while ‘Time Is Like A River’ demonstrated a dreamy Richard Hawley-style quality.

As Hinson began his set, the audience huddled around the tiny stage as if gathering around a campfire in the winter snows. With some sitting on the floor to watch, there was a communal feel which the sparse delivery only enhanced. On a simple stage with just one bright spotlight, the design felt aimed at making sure that the songs themselves were the sole focus. The setlist was dominated by his current album, however, many of the instrumentals were cut out and replaced by selected highlights from his vast back catalogue – all perfectly chosen to add to Holy Strangers' dark and captivating story themes. Between songs, his stage patter was at times drily hilarious. Sounding like a young Johnny Cash with his long Texan drawl, anecdotes were shared of his attempts to get a band together for the tour or mishaps in Spanish hospitals.

The performance itself had an extra fragility to it, even on top of what is at times a highly emotional album. ‘Oh, Spaceman’ and ‘The Darling’, tracks that are so delicate that they hang together by a thread on the album, became even lighter here. Hinson swayed and strode backwards and forwards on the stage, completely lost in the music. Older favourites such as ‘The Day The Volume Won’ and ‘Everlasting Arms’ slotted perfectly into the set, which was solely played on one acoustic guitar. Tantalisingly, the crowd were also given a glimpse at what is to come as Hinson revealed that Holy Strangers was actually originally twice as long. As he played an unnamed track from the offcuts, with its resigned acceptance that: “I guess this will be the bitter end”, it will be exciting for fans to further explore the story in a promised second release at a later time.

Hinson’s eccentricities and sheer intensity gave the evening a feeling of sitting on the edge of a precipice. During a short encore, he spoke of having to wilfully change his headspace to allow him to concentrate on songs from different albums. As he stood at the back of the stage for several long moments, hands pressed together in an effort to concentrate, silence descended over the crowd. Thankfully, the audience recognised that any attempt to cajole or hurry him would likely have been counter-effective and he burst back to life with ‘God Is Good’ and a tribute to the untimely passing of Tom Petty the previous night. As a fascinating evening with a true musical maverick drew to an end, his goal of making great art had proved to be a resounding success. Long may he continue to walk the harder path.

Jamie MacMillan

Website – micahphinson.com
Facebook – facebook.com/micahphinson