Lucy Zirins

WOT!!! No thread for Lucy? Right then, ‘bout time that was remedied…...

Over the last couple of years, Burnley’s Lucy Zirins has been getting herself noticed, and rightly so, even to the point of chasing Oli Brown for Best Young Artist awards.

Only been able to catch her once, and then it was the closing couple of songs of her set, last year at Doncaster Blues Festival, but that was enough to set the ears tingling enough to want to hear more. Well, that opportunity came last Saturday night, down at Hartlepool, where, after being thwarted once by venue closure, Tommy tried again and succeeded in booking Lucy to open for The Alligators.

Okay, on paper that is somewhat of a miss-match, The Alligators, bowing out, are a “meat an’ tatties” old school, R’n'B, garage-rock band, whereas Lucy’s acoustic stylings would seem too delicate; but, like any good menu, a classic starter refreshes the palate and stimulates the appetite, so it was with Lucy’s set; really got the ears working. True, most of the crowd were there for the main band, but at least Hartlepool won at home in the afternoon, but Lucy did have to cut through a “chatty” crowd, but managed to win a lot over with a cracking Tom Waits cover, and even got a bit sing-a-long going; and here’s me thinking only Ian Siegal can get away with Tom Waits….. That’s not to say Lucy’s own material isn’t worth listening to; she has that sort of bitter-sweet touch that puts me in mind of Ian Parker, as well as her Blues rootings but style that would work either with a light jazz backing or even celtic or bluegrass folk, not unlike Mary Chapin Carpenter, hell, even a touch country works; it would be a shame to try and fit Lucy into any particular box. I also like Lucy as she has her own voice, in that she not out to redo a Janis Joplin or Etta James; in fact, if Chantel is Stevie Nicks, than Lucy is Christine McVie.

Anyway, back to the set - what should have been the highlight of the set was marred by the sound gremlins, Lucy was set to do a couple of numbers on the Resonator, however, something was badly amiss with the microphone or pick-up. The first couple of rows probably got to hear what a great touch she has on the Res, but for us further back it was more acapella , but her voice did carry over the buzz of the audience. Obviously, it threw her a bit, but with a shrug and a “that’s rock an’ roll” which got the crowd back, Lucy rolled through a couple more songs off her album and got the crowd back in tune with a Stand By Me to close the set.

In all, totally justified my faith, and a ride out into the depth of Hartlepool and would recommend to anyone, if you get chance, go and check out Lucy; definitely one to watch.