Concert Review by Jamie Homer
St James Church, Piccadilly, London – May 19, 2005
I must confess that I had never been inside a church before to see a gig. The venue itself, St. James Church, is truly an amazing place to hear someone like Bird, aka Janie Price, with cello in hand, perform amongst a backdrop of candles, gothic windows and sunlight streaming through all sides. And the sound quality was amazing.
Tonight, Bird’s 12th and final night on her UK tour, was meant to be her homecoming gig. Janie herself confessed she was a tad bit disappointed in the sound quality from tonight’s gig as her guitarist had only that day lost his instrument and was scrambling around all afternoon to find a new one. But I must say, despite a few imperfect chords, I was very impressed with Bird. I really like her sound. She has a strong and powerful voice, and her style, something akin to folky fusion meets Tori Amos on a stormy night, really worked for me.
Janie Price is a humble, almost shy, bright and extremely talented musician and her on stage presence is entirely reflective of her off stage attitude towards her music. She is absolutely dedicated to what she does. There is no negotiation with her music, it is hers and her style and ability to make you feel like you are FALLING LIKE STARS is remarkable. The sound she gets on her cello adds so much to her performance. I was impressed and saddened that I could only see her for half an hour, it didn’t seem fair.
From a cover of Nirvana to FALLING LIKE STARS to STRAWBERRY, the only critical comment I can honestly make is that I wanted to hear more than just five songs. It was a quick gig, only half an hour, but I guess that is what happens when you are the support before the support before the main show… Oh well, I am pleased that I got to see her live. And I urge you all to check her out also while she is still playing small venues like St. James Church in Piccadilly.
