His Lordship are a duo of guitarist and singer James Walbourne and drummer Kris Sonne. Both have collaborated with numerous artists, and they met while working with Chrissie Hynde. Whatever happened at that moment, something rather brilliant was conceived. His Lordship seems to be a vehicle to channel some faster, more furious rock ‘n’ roll and explore some of the darker parts of the psyche. And, for Walbourne in particular, this creates a wonderful complement to the folk brilliance of his work with The Rails. For this tour, the two were joined on stage by bassist Dave Page.
The band kicked off with a trio of songs from the excellent new album “Bored Animal”. First up was ‘Old Romantic’, which, like most of the set, was played with real energy and verve. Witty lyrics such as “Running from a policeman/pissing in a phone box/stealing from the milkman” form the backbone of the song, and the tone is set by the repeated line “I love the night”. This was followed by ‘Bored Animal’ – a visceral song led by some wonderfully sharp guitar – and then ‘Marc-Andre Leclerc’ – a song where the underlying sense of rock ‘n’ roll is clear, but there’s also a great distortion to it. It was also the start of Walbourne showing the crowd his energetic dance moves and leg kicks.
Next up was ‘Joyboy’ from the band’s first album. Another lively song which was a reminder that His Lordship don’t just perform their songs, they attempt to tattoo them straight into your soul. And then a shift to the darkness of ‘Weirdo in the Park’, a faux naïve vignette about a child spotting someone odd. The darkness was continued with ‘Derek E Fudge’ – a disturbing, blood-curdling song sung by Sonne. Musically, this number started with a funkier feel and had a brilliant drum outro. A funky start was given to a cover of Jack Scott’s classic rock ‘n’ roll number ‘The Way I Walk’, but this soon segued into pure rock ‘n’ roll with some absolutely outstanding blues guitar. This was one of many moments of the evening to absorb how simply brilliant the musicians on the stage were. The band’s own ‘Rock Fall Echo Dust’ followed, which was given a heavy treatment live but still managed to sound like Elvis, or at least an Elvis who was having his balls gripped tightly.
A catchy guitar line began ‘Johnny Got No Beef’, and then the energy was turned back up to eleven with ‘I Live in the City’. And this was the time for Walbourne to finally say hello to the crowd and provide a small chance to take a breath. This was the prelude to one of the many highlights of the evening, ‘The Repenter’ – a song performed with a wonderful mix of fast and slow parts, some more brilliant guitar playing, musical thoughtfulness and an anthemic sing-along. The rhythm kicked back in with ‘12-12-21’ – a nostalgic reflection on youth. And then came the song that might top the list of the best-named tunes of all time, ‘My Brother is an Only Child’. This was another song sung by Sonne, with Page effortlessly taking up the drumming duties. All Sonne’s craziness was allowed full rein here: standing on the drum kit, jumping off said kit, swinging the microphone, pretending to eat said microphone, miming flight. Brilliant and disturbing in equal measure.
Walbourne returned to vocal duties on ‘I am in Amsterdam’ – a song that may be about a bad trip, but again had great rhythm. This was followed by ‘Jackie Works for the NHS’, which, live, was performed as a classic rock song, and a valediction was delivered to all NHS workers at the end. Walbourne then introduced ‘Gin and Fog’ as a tribute to what he had learned through knowing Shane McGowan. This is a slow, thoughtful number with a beautiful guitar part, which was moving to hear live.
There was a gothic turn next with ‘Downertown’ with some darkness brought into the idea of living in such a place – “It was New Year’s Eve when the kid hit the ground/There was blood on the concrete and people around”. This was followed by the clever post-punk sounding ‘Buzzkill’ and then ‘Cat Call’ – another live standout. The song was given the full rock treatment, with even a prog break where guitar and bass used the speakers to get feedback, and drums rolled, and cymbals crashed. The song was allowed to just build and build, and the guitar breaks were even given a real Celtic feel. And then the last track of the main set – ‘All Cranked Up’, which may well have been chosen ironically for the line “I am all cranked up with no place to go”.
The encore began with a tribute to Norwich in the form of a cover of ‘I’m on Drugs’ by Serious Drinking. There aren’t many words to this song, and the band seemed to get them right despite their confessed apprehension. This was followed by the brilliant ‘I Fly Planes into Hurricanes’ and then to wrap things up, a full energy, full rock ‘n’ roll cover of Billy Emerson’s ‘Red Hot’.
I have not had such simple, unadulterated fun at a gig for ages. Brilliant, witty, sometimes dark songs performed with absolute commitment and enormous energy. A wonderful blend of musical influences, from punk to prog, but with a secure foundation of rock ‘n’ roll. And on top of that musicianship, from all three on the stage, which was exciting and mesmerising. Let’s hope for more music and more tours.
His Lordship were supported by local three-piece band Snakemilk, who brought their self-styled brand of “garage post-apocalypt-a-billy” – which translated on the evening to a heavier feeling rockabilly. ‘Midnight Radio’ provided an up-tempo start despite having a darker side – “I hear the ghosts in the airwaves whisper my name/I know they’re gonna lure me to an early grave”. This was followed by ‘Stop’ and ‘St. James’, the latter being a song that was allowed to build well. And then ‘Plane’, a song introduced as being about a block of flats and one person’s obsession with train sets. Final two songs of the set were ‘Quiverin’ – a highlight of the performance, which sounded a little like the Beach Boys on speed – and ‘Hobanna’ – a short, lively finish.
