Newton Faulkner - Cheltenham Town Hall

Wednesday 10th June 2009

This is a Crackerjack review of Newton Faulkner. Do you agree? Rate and review this event.

Crackerjack rating: 10 / 10.

You may think one man sat on a stage with a guitar would struggle to hold an audience of several hundred.

But, with a split set lasting more than an hour and a half, Newton Faulkner managed it with ease at Cheltenham Town Hall last night.

Personally, having lived with a guitarist for more than a decade, I didn’t believe there was much I hadn’t seen done with a guitar.  I was wrong.

Turning the guitar upside down to use the instrument as a bongo drum, whilst still playing a bass line one handed was certainly something new.

In fact, the whole style of playing, using both hands on the neck of the guitar, plucking a bass line while finger picking the tune over the top – it was all mesmerising.

Add to the mix Newton’s soaring vocals, his relaxed, amiable banter and his self-depreciating wit and you have the ingredients for something special.

Even a technical nightmare failed to dampen spirits at the end of the first half of his set, with a hasty cover version of “Pure Imagination” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory leaving the audience whistling to themselves during the interval.

The grand venue lent itself ideally to the relaxed, intimate style of show, with plenty of interaction between Newton and the audience, including choreographed hand dances and backing vocals split between the male and female halves of the crowd.

Among the highlights of the evening were the singles Teardrop and Dream Catch Me, while material from the forthcoming second album was also warmly received.

It was an evening to treasure – it is not often you see a genuinely likeable performer enjoying his evening as much as the audience.

It felt more like listening to friend play the guitar in your front room rather than a big gig – and I can’t pay it a higher complement than that.

David Thomas

This is a Crackerjack review of Newton Faulkner. Do you agree? Rate and review this event.