Armed with only a couple of acoustic guitars and a series of foot pedals, dreadlocked singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner stunned the sell-out crowd at Exeter Great Hall into silence with an emotional and hit-packed set stuffed full of his unique blend of pop music and acoustic wizardry.
Opening with Pulling Teeth from third album Write It On Your Skin, Newton immediately had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Album highlights and fan favourites I Took It Out on You and People Should Smile More provided the ‘put-your-arm-around-your-mate’ moment, while Clouds and the awesome Soon ensured that fans of the new album were kept happy.
Kept happy by numerous sips of tea from a flask onstage, Mr Faulkner quickly got the crowd going with a little help from album tracks Long Shot, Brick by Brick and I Need Something. New song He Was a Professional is possibly the best thing we’ve heard for a long time. It’s about a professional dog food taster, it’s hilarious and it had the whole crowd singing along by the end – if that’s not a surefire sign of a number one single, we don’t know what is.
Covers of classic tracks can often pale in comparison to the originals and can occasionally leave the artist sounding a little overwhelmed by the sheer scale of reinventing a classic song. However, we’re pleased to report that Newton’s covers of Stevie Wonder’s Superstition and the Massive Attack classic Teardrop were absolutely fantastic. Favourites such as Dream Catch Me and UFO were obviously well-received and adored by the audience, with every word being screamed back in the face of the multitalented Faulkner.
Alas, the night drew to a close, but not without one final surprise – a solo acoustic cover of Bohemian Rhapsody. You know when you witness something that makes you want to give up playing the guitar and crawl into a pit of musical mediocrity? That, ladies and gentlemen, is how this reviewer felt after witnessing what can only be described as a textbook example of technical musicianship and supreme skill.
Newton Faulkner is undoubtedly one of the most talented guitarists around today and his live shows are simply something else – seriously, if you get the chance to see him then take it. You won’t regret it.