LIVE: Marc Ford @ The Borderline, London
22/07/2014
Alejandro De Luna
Acoustic-driven shows always work better at small venues…
If you think in Marc Ford´s latest incarnation as an acoustic troubadour instead of the electric and visceral guitar hero, The Borderline, a dark intimate Soho basement, seems to be the perfect comrade for his collection of meditative Americana. Accompanied by Stew Jackson (Phantom Limb) and the effects of a few pints that enhanced his introspective vocals and delicate guitar playing, Ford´s current show is more like an open letter of a bleeding heart rather than a lesson of guitar virtuosity.
Like with Holy Ghost (2014) – Ford´s latest collection of songs – the show transits between an atmosphere of contemplation and soul-searching speculation – the kind of music that jeopardizes nostalgia. The sound coming out from the speakers feels like a personal confession that recaps the craggy pathway of a man that has been on the road for almost three decades. Does the Black Crowes´ former lead guitarist still need to prove something? Certainly not. Does he still need to pursue inner peace with music as the exorcist of his demons? It seems so. This show is not for us, the crowd. This is Marc Ford exploring his darkest corners of vulnerability as a human being and as a sensitive artist.
Despite the lyrical dialogue goes beyond personal, the holy ghosts of The Band, Dylan, Neil Young along other southern and country-like textures, wrap the tiny venue in a moment of testimonial truthfulness. Love and the loss of it, sorrow, romance, self-examination and nostalgia is what Marc Ford´s about in 2014 and tracks like ‘Dream #26’, ‘Call Me Faithful’, ‘In You’ or ‘Dancing Shoes’ prove it, while inclusions like ‘Shining Again’ or ‘When You Go’ from It´s About Time (2006) enhanced the tone of the heartbreaking message.
Ford´s current show could be flat, monotonous for moments and brutally introspective, but this is the kind of gig that brings out the real face of an artist, and most important, from a human being.
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