Bobby Long and His Battalion of Women

One man and his guitar. It’s about as simple as music can get. A simple troubadour armed only with his instrument, eager to impart his collected stories and gathered compositions in front of an expectant audience.

Fortunately for Bobby Long, he has a crowd that is buoyant with excitement and riveted by his mere presence. He has attracted not just a gaggle of young women, the term gaggle being inadequate to convey the proportion of the audience who are female. The intimate venue is rather besieged by a battalion of women, cooing and cheering at Long’s every offering.

He takes to the stage and seems to fit every expectation of the lonesome frontman. The errant strands of hair drooped down over one eye, the check shirt and tight jeans combination are present together with a hunch over the microphone. He has a gauche awkwardness that also seems to fit the pattern. He exclaims how pleased he is to be here before launching into his first song, Sweet Mary Jane.

Long has a gifted voice, able to convey forlorn sentiments without straying into whimsy. As he goes through his set, the same sorts of song appear. Being a Mockingbird and Left Alone are but two of the structurally sound and quaint paeans to absence and longing. Although there is little difference in the music and the style of the two songs, some effort has gone into producing the lyrics giving each song its own identity.

Long interacts well with the audience, leaving a gap in the songs to allow the crowd to join in and provide the missing words. He also provides good banter, passing on the story of how he met a herpes-ridden tiger on days gone by. The final song is backed up with the accompaniment of the piano and provides a depth that goes some way to differentiating it from the songs before.

Long leaves the stage as he came on, mumbling his thanks and shifting awkwardly with his guitar in his hand. He receives a sonorous appreciation of his performance from the enthralled crowd. Although he is soon off to America, his performance tonight should ensure that another battalion of women will be pitching up to future gigs.

Bobby played at:

The Albany
240 Great Portland Street
W1W 5QU

www.myspace.com/musicbobbylong