The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Erica Buettner at Rough Trade West

Erica Buettner at Rough Trade West | Live review
8 April 2013
Tom Yates
Avatar
Tom Yates
8 April 2013

There is much to admire about this American singer-songwriter who, despite admitting that she is “no good at stage banter between songs”, comes to the most intimate of venues to play through a handful of tracks from her debut album True Love and Water.

In truth, even referring to Rough Trade West as a venue feels overly generous as that word evokes images of a stage and perhaps a microphone – neither of which it possesses. So with no more than her un-amplified voice and acoustic guitar in hand Buettner has nothing to hide behind except her ability which, thankfully, she evidently has in excess. And don’t let her nationality fool you, Buettner has been living in Europe for the past few years and her Parisian influences are unmistakable.

Opening track Time Travelling is six and a half minutes of delicately finger-picked arpeggios combined with haunting yet serene vocals in the vein of Leslie Feist, albeit delivered in a slightly less upbeat mode. Our Most Fragile Things is a simple, yet effective ballad built around an instantly appealing guitar line that further displays Buettner’s deft playing ability (an attribute that should distinguish this talented songstress from the many other acts operating within the folk spectrum).

Midway through the set, an onlooker situated behind the counter is revealed as Buettner’s cellist who begins to play alongside her, starting with True Love and Water. Even though a small technical issue resulted in the cello’s volume being inconsistent, the moments of clarity saw it compliment Buettner’s sound marvelously.

Playing an acoustic set in a shop has its disadvantages: the even quieter moments during songs are occasionally interrupted by the squeak of plastic-wrapped vinyls being leaned on by over-eager observers hoping for a better view. Yet despite these, there’s a clear sense of artistic dedication, songwriting talent, and a sublime voice that’s plain for all to see and will be hard to ignore.

★★★★★

Tom Yates
Photos: Andrew Collins

For further information and future events visit Erica Buettner’s website here.

Watch Erica Buettner perform Under the Radar here:

Related Itemslive musicreview

More in Live music

Live from the Barbican: Moses Boyd

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Weezer with the LA Philharmonic and YOLA at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Birdy at Wilton’s Music Hall Online

★★★★★
Mark Worgan
Read More

Bat for Lashes Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Barker-Turner Overdrive: An Evening of Duets at the Tunbridge Wells Forum Online

★★★★★
Catherine Sedgwick
Read More

Ben Howard: Global Transmission from Goonhilly Earth Station live stream

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

The Sherlocks at Sheffield City Hall Online

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More

The Snuts at Stirling Castle Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Valley Maker – When the Day Leaves Livestream

★★★★★
Jasper Watkins
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • London’s Michelin-starred restaurants open al fresco right now – and all those re-opening in May
    Food & Drinks
  • Cruise – Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Portal
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Birdy at Wilton’s Music Hall Online
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • A Splinter of Ice at Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Motherhood Project: An interview with creator and curator Katherine Kotz
    Theatre
  • The Mitchells vs the Machines
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Shadow and Bone
    ★★★★★
    netflix
  • 50 Next unveils the new generation of food industry pioneers
    Food & Drinks
  • Arlo the Alligator Boy
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • 50 Next unveils the new generation of food industry pioneers
    Food & Drinks
  • Arlo the Alligator Boy
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • London’s Michelin-starred restaurants open al fresco right now – and all those re-opening in May
    Food & Drinks
  • Campfire in Kings Cross: Two Tribes deliver everything you’ve been missing with a night of beer, BBQ and live music
    Food & Drinks
  • Live from the Barbican: Moses Boyd
    ★★★★★
    Live music
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Theorem | Movie review
Paramore – Paramore | Album review