Ray LaMontagne - The Lowry, Salford (08/02/2009)

The crowd could have been waiting for a low budget film to start at a local cinema, with a wave of civilised people sat down in their fold down fabric seats waiting patiently for the main feature to start. But when LaMontagne graced the stage with the jovial, upbeat sound of 'You Are The Best Thing', his husky growl filled the room and the crowd was instantaneously mesmerised.

Upon a simple backdrop of blue lights, Ray took the audience on a journey through his rise to glory. With lyrics like: "Can you see the working classes trudging through their days?", he allowed them a brief insight into his life before his rise to fame.

He managed to tug at the heartstrings and raise goosebumps when he sang: "Well, I've been to hell and back so many times/I must admit you kind of bore me".

Performing tracks from Till The Sun Turns Black, whose haunting melodies seemed to penetrate the mind and body, he provided what can only be described as music for the soul. His thin, sallow, shy frame stood to the right of the stage, playing his guitar with an incessantly tapping foot, pledging the crowd's allegiance and rapt attention.

Gossip In The Grain proved to be his most creative and emotionally expansive collection to date. It sounded even more poignant with his unedited performance displaying the range of vocals he can produce when he is really allowed to let loose.

Appearing on stage for an encore, Ray belted out 'Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's A Crying Shame)' and finished with 'Jolene' to the satisfaction of his loyal followers, enlightening the faithful congregation in his wake.

Ray LaMontagne, we were all converts to your cause.

Rating: 5/5

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Ray LaMontagne's official website
http://www.raylamontagne.com/

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Ray LaMontagne on MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/raylamontagne

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STORY DETAILS

Published: 11/04/2009 at 15:16
Author: Tamsin Holleran
Links: Permanent Link

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