Sophie Wenban reviews blues artist John Miller’s dry-humour laden set at the Leytonstone Social Club last Wednesday (14th October)
Some artists learn the language of country music; John Miller seems to think in it. At What’s Cookin’, Ramblin’ Steve’s weekly Americana gathering in Leytonstone Social Club, the return of ‘The Lonesome Blue Boy’ offered a welcome reminder that heartache and humour have often shared a country barstool.
The low ceiling, tiki touches and a framed Hank Williams presiding over proceedings would have you believe you’d wandered into a southern honky-tonk rather than a midweek East London gig venue.
This was a room where country music needed little introduction. BJ Cole was among the audience, too, suggesting the evening had attracted a few people who knew what to expect.
Miller deserves a wider hearing. In an era when country and pop increasingly share production values, he remains interested in the essentials: a good tune, a sharp lyric and the difficult business of being human.
A Real Ghost Town wryly observed the commercial packaging of industrial heritage with the line: “They’ll slap your heritage on a plate / And serve it to you while you wait.”
Two Into Three Won’t Go made romantic disappointment a mathematical problem, while Butt Out, complete with a Jimmie Rodgers-style yodel, showed that traditional country can be playful without losing its musical footing.
Miller’s dry humour was part of the pleasure, introducing a song he had written for Emmylou Harris by saying, “not like she’s ever heard it”. After the interval, he promised “some more rubbish”. Self-deprecation in artists is generally attractive, and everyone in the room knew that Miller had more than “rubbish” to offer.
Miller isn’t afraid to journey around the less-travelled corners of your record collection. Gary Stewart’s Out of Hand comfortably alongside The Clash’s Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad, while I Fall to Pieces offered restrained homage to Patsy Cline. With his Country Casuals joining him in the second half, Phil Morgan’s pedal steel supplied the familiar lonesome twang. Glam special guest Aisha Khan, on loan from her band Grace Under Fire also gave proceedings a feminist shake-up with self-penned sassy duet, (If You Can’t Live Without Me) Why Ain’t You Dead Yet.
Miller’s latest album, Loser’s Hall of Fame, makes a compelling case for being one of the best-kept secrets in modern country music. If you like your country full of wry observation, bruised romance and just the right amount of twang, give John Miller and His Country Casuals a listen.
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