The team ventured to a far corner of the Camden kingdom on Thursday night to see old time fave Ben Howard play a breakthrough gig at The Water Rats.
We first saw Ben play during long weekends down in Cornwall, when he used to perform at numerous lovely venues around Falmouth, where he was a student. The gigs were always filled to the rafters and this Thursday proved to be no exception with a packed out room full of friends and ardent fans.
Ben’s appeal is wide-ranging. His impressive surfing skills and west country charm win over everyone from teenage Aussie boys to middle aged mums. Some girls in the audience weren’t too bothered about being able to hear the music over the background noise of the pub, but were very concerned that they might not actually get to see him in the flesh. There’ s no doubt that he’s a looker, but they’d have been mad to miss out on his deeply soulful tunes.
Ben is currently sponsored by Quicksilver, and with most surfer musicians there is the fear that they will sound just like Jack Johnson, but his unusual guitar playing methods and soulful lyrics show that his talent goes much further than that. With a tone not dissimilar to Ray LaMontagne, his beautifully echoey voice takes you straight to dreams of dancing around moon-lit beach fires with the waves rolling in behind you.
Promoting his latest EP, These Waters, Ben played a satisfying mix of old and new material, with the crowd singing along to faves such as The Wolves, and final rousing rendition of Move Like You Want had them whooping with glee.
Thursday was potentially a big night for Mister Howard as the gig was filled with record companies who’d come to check out his potential. The Camden Store reckon they’d be mad not to take him on.
The Camden Store Team x
