It’s become a cliché to say that John Grant could sing the phone book and it’d sound great – if you want proof, one of his best-loved songs basically lists the contents of a sweet shop – so the notion of him performing a set of material by country music legend Patsy Cline sounded a terrific idea on paper.

In practice it was way beyond that. Grant’s incredible renditions took Cline’s sultry – and occasionally silly – torch songs to a whole new level, if anything giving them even greater soul and deeper resonance, and not just because of his fabulous bass voice. He also lives and breathes the material, not only as a huge fan, but a victim of the heartbreak so many of the songs are about, introducing exquisite readings of the likes of There He Goes, Heartaches and Your Cheatin’ Heart with witty references to his own beleaguered love life.

As usual the between song banter is half the fun of a Grant gig, and this night was no exception, as he reeled off a selection of stories about Cline and her music’s impact on his own life, including fascinating tales of the formative years he lived in Germany. He also exchanged a few nods and laughs with Richard Hawley – another brilliant raconteur – but sadly the latter didn’t even have a mic, sticking rigidly to the role of backing musician, alongside members of his own wonderful band, throughout. His remaining silent was clearly the plan but the one disappointment of the night, as a trick was arguably missed in giving him a lead vocal or even duet with the star of the evening.

That said, Hawley’s guitar playing was nothing less than sumptuous – especially wonderful on the likes of Sweet Dreams and Crazy – throughout, and ably supported by his four regular cohorts who were flawlessly tight all night, and only really let rip as Grant departed the stage, with a fabulous extended jam during the finale of Blue Moon Of Kentucky.

And if that wasn’t enough, the bar was raised even further during the encore, which featured a sublime rendition of The Czars’ Paint The Moon, the only non-Cline song of the night but which Grant claimed to have written after being inspired by Strange, a lovely number performed earlier in the set. It was also another tune he said reflected his own life, and “another one of my favourites”, but by now it was obvious they all were, and he never needed to tell us – his brilliant performance did that all by itself. 

4 stars

Reviewed by Steve Adams at Warwick Arts Centre on 23 September 2023