A welcome return.
Although former Onelinedrawing/Far/Gratitude/New End Original front man Jonah Matranga is in a supporting role tonight, this is essentially a co-headliner tour so the crowd is pretty hyped up for his set. He's already warmed up for the gig having played an impromptu, if short set at indie record shop Spillers a couple of hours before, where he tackled some of the tracks from his new album "And" totally acoustically, and it seems he's in high spirits when he takes to the stage, opening with 'The Greatest Wonder' to loud and enthusiastic applause from the crowd and sporting a brand new Spillers Records t-shirt.
Last time Jonah played in this part of the world he was glowing with stories of the new love in his life, unfortunately, this time it seems things aren't going so well for him in that department as he makes a few comments about being single, like during 'Bitte Ein kuss', "it's time for a bit of in the bed disco" elicits an "I wish" from him and he tries to charm the ladies in the crowd with a comment about Welsh women being much more attractive that the men.
However his love life is going though, Jonah is as charming and accommodating as ever. For those who missed his earlier performance he plays 'I Want You To Be My Witness' and 'You Always Said You Hated San Francisco' again along with a range of older material which really gets the audience going, like fan favourite 'Mother Mary', a classic from his Far days which he never shies away from playing even though he must get it requested every time he's up on stage. Unlike his earlier performance though, this time he has the accompaniment of his trusty lap top which comes in handy for beefing up old tracks like: 'A Ghost' and 'We Had A Deal' so there's a nice contrast between this material and the more folk inspired new album stuff.
With such a huge back catalogue to choose from its likely he could play all night and that the crowd would undoubtedly let him. Seeing Jonah perform is always a joy and tonight is no exception, it's good to hear the new tunes alongside old favourites and played live they really come alive with help from his powerful and rich vocals. But eventually, unfortunately, his set has to come to an end with the track 'So Long', at least Frank Turner is up next.