
This was the first of Matt Owens’ Nightjar sessions, which aims to pair a touring act with a local Bath band. Our Man In The Field was the chosen band to open their touring year. Despite a last-minute change of venue and Our Man In the Field’s Alex Ellis having his flight cancelled after his appearance at the Your Roots Are Showing festival in Killarney, the show went on at the elegant upstairs room at Bath’s Green Park Station.
This was Our Man In The Field in a different configuration. With Henry Senior absent, Matt Owens stepped in to fill in for Senior’s pedal steel and Dobro with his own unique guitar style. The set remains focused for now on Our Man In The Fields’ second album “Gold On The Horizon” with Alex Ellis offering his usual explanations of the songs’ creations. ‘Feel Good’ which, he reminded us, is about an ex-agent who still owes him money, was the first chance for Owens to show what he may be bringing to the third Our Man In The Field album. On ‘Go Easy’, usually a pedal steel highlight, he played a delicate solo that drifted on over the last chorus. His presence gave the song a more muscular feel compared to the graceful swing that it has had in live performances over the last year or two. There was perhaps a more soulful sound to the music tonight which worked well for songs like ‘Silver Linings’ and ‘Glad To See You’, giving them a different twist to what we have heard before. Cellist Maddy Cundall was on particularly good form tonight with a solo on ‘Thin (I Used to Be Bulletproof)’ which also drew a particularly good solo from Owens.
There were two new songs in the set, including ‘Doing Alright’ which first appeared at their summer 2023 dates and has evolved into a near-perfect, introspective song. Drummer Annie Mumford and bass player Eva Perrin-Fontana have been Our Man In The Field’s regular rhythm section for a couple of years now and add drive or a lighter touch to the songs exactly as needed. This was especially true tonight on the closing song ‘Last Dance’. With a new album hopefully due in June this looks like being a big year for Our Man In The Field, and they start it playing as well, or better than ever.
The Bath band tonight was Matt Owens’ own Delusional Vanity Project with a more mellow set than their often-incendiary evenings just down the road at The Grapes. A long bluesy opening set the scene for the evening. Drummer James Besley had made the trip from London to join Owens, and regular DVP members JJ and Duncan Kingston. Maddy Cundall also pulled double duty and added a lovely solo to ‘Yours To Lose’. Owens delved back into the past with the title song from his first album ‘Whiskey and Orchids’. Tonight, though was about promoting the next 7 Hills Festival in March and the Nightjar gig series, which got off to a fine start with two fine bands performing at their best.