Steve Gunn
24th October 2022
Deerstalkers Association Hall, Hastings, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Chris Kiely.
On the occasion of what could (subject to confirmation) be the 100th iteration of the Small Hall Sessions, international guest star Steve Gunn mesmerised a capacity crowd in the unique setting of the Hastings Deerstalker’s Hall. This is Steve’s fourth visit to these shores, and when planning the trip he specifically asked his booking agent to include a gig with Jamie, such is the esteem in which these opportunities are held. Endorsements don’t get much more overt than that!
From the first minute, the audience were enraptured, watching spellbound as the maestro mellifluously manipulated magic from his acoustic guitar and panel of effects devices. These are pieces that showcase his immense talent, as his fingers roam the fretboard in pursuit of ever-more elaborate sounds and structures. Showing a great respect for other voices, he was hesitant to start in on the vocals as he didn’t want to drown out the birds who could be heard through the hall’s open doors, providing a twitter feed of the purest quality, far removed from the toxicity and trolling of the online version! He did of course work past this obstacle, to deliver lyrics that told the tales of everyday life. Mostly sung without explaining, with the notable exception of “Morning River”, which was explained as being a tribute to a friend who’d passed on, and as such held special value and depth.
As may be obvious by now, I didn’t make a lot of notes during the performance, as I was held just as transfixed as most of my fellow audience members. But this was a truly transcendent experience, watching along spellbound as one of the world’s great guitarists showed us his abilities. It is a mantle worn lightly though, as he is a humble and self-effacing man, not above interaction with the crowd (coming out and mingling beforehand, even!). Given that this is both his final show of the tour and the year, I can’t do the usual and tell you to catch him before he leaves – but I can say: a truly stunning performance that stands proudly in the pantheon of Small Halls, and a great incentive to attend wherever you can – even if you may not know much, or anything, about the performer, you can trust Jamie’s expert curation!
Were you there at the Hastings Deerstalkers Association Hall for this intimate gig? Or have you seen Steve Gunn perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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I was lucky enough to catch Steve at this gig and he was on fine form. A humble, quiet man, with a burning intelligence and one who lets his fingers do the talking. The two sets were well paced and contained a lot of variety and colour, with some great extended passages, which really highlighted how tasteful Steve is with his various pedals/effects and drone/swell use to add texture to his playing. I commented to him at the end how great it was to see a player such as he skilfully and organically use pedals to add dynamic range, rather than someone who just slaps on endless layers onto a loop station. Out of many song highlights, the intense and beautifully epic ‘Way out Weather’ at the end of set 1 was a real head melter in the finest fashion – with Steve going from picking to slamming near feedback power strums, hunched down by his amp – then back to sweet picking to finish with – I told him it was like listening to Bert Jansch having a freak out jam with Spiritualized! He was happy with that depiction! I very much look forward to catching up with Steve the next time he visits these shores – a class act all round.