William Fitzsimmons, Night & Day Cafe, Manchester August 2009
Andrea Wren is underwhelmed
Coming on stage at Manchester’s Night & Day Café after the enigmatic Denis Jones with his folk-electro beats, William Fitzsimmons had a tough act to follow. And unfortunately, he didn’t quite manage to maintain the rustle of excitement that was left in the air.
A wire-wool beard and a peaked cap does not the next Bon Iver make you – and there are are only so many hushed, plod along tones you can listen to before you switch off entirely. Opening with True, Fitzsimmons dampened the the fizz that Jones had mustered, and after the next two songs, I knew I was to face another 60 minutes of musical similarity.
Having said that, Fitzsimmons’ fourth track Please Don’t picked up pace with a pluckier guitar and a propulsive, progressive beat – it was the first time my ears pricked up in the set. But while I enjoyed listening to his voice and particularly his conversation with the audience between his music, I was disappointed that I couldn’t hear what was being sung about through the performance.
Certainly William Fitzsimmons’ acoustic skills cannot be faulted and he is clearly a man dedicated to his music, coming across as genuine and insightful. Yet as far as there being anything new, different, distinguished or even vaguely interesting here, I did not find it.
Yes, the lyrics (if you could hear them) are very personal and deeply meaningful, and William Fitzsimmons has a wit and an endearing self-deprecating nature that is appealing, but there was just nothing, for me, that set him apart from the rest.
Maybe Fitzsimmons just fits better for late-night, easy-listening music when relaxing at home, rather than for being on stage, and has no desire to stand out? I don’t know, and maybe I fell asleep and missed the really interesting bits.
Andrea Wren
