Willy Mason at The Enterprise, Camden

Willy Mason

Barfly Acoustic The Enterprise on Thursday 3 February 2005

Firstly, what a great little venue. The evening's entertainment took place in a small room, above a pub in Camden, with a makeshift stage created from chipboard balanced ominously on milk crates.

Support came from the charming lead singer of The Magic Numbers, Romeo Stodart. Equipped with only his guitar he took to the stage to treat the 100 strong crowd to a sublime performance of gorgeous melodies. Harmonies came in an unorthodox fashion. The three other members of The Magic Numbers were in the audience and they couldn't resist chipping in whenever they felt like it to the amusement of the audience who, I don't think, really knew what was going on! The Magic Numbers have been tipped for greatness in 2005 and after the performance of their lead singer it's easy to see why. I don't think anybody could have asked for a better support act.

Onto Willy!

It's very hard to believe that Willy Mason is just 19 years old. Hailing from New York, he has already supported the likes of The Grateful Dead, Bright Eyes and Ben Kweller, but tonight he sets off on his first headline tour. Considering that his album, Where the Humans Eat, is not officially released until later this month it is no mean feat that this tour has already sold out. Word of mouth has rapidly spread and judging by tonight's performance, Willy Mason will go from strength to strength.

Without the backing of his brother, Sam, on drums (he's back in High School taking exams!) Mason stripped his songs down to classic country and blues acoustic simplicity. His lyrics are clever, witty and simple and when delivered with his whisky-smooth deep voice and laid back attitude it is almost impossible not to be drawn into the songs (although the fact that I was slowly getting blind drunk can only have helped my "love" for Willy!).

Tonight there are a number of stand out tracks. "Hard Hand to Hold", "So Long", and "Oxygen" are all classics. "Oxygen" even brought the first bit of crowd participation of the night as they sang along to "on and on and on it goes. the world it just keeps spinning". I would have been singing too but by this stage I was so pissed that I'd forgotten the words. I do, however, remember the grin on Willy's face as (maybe for the first time?) the crowd sang along to one of his songs.

The set finished with the confidently uplifting "Fear No Pain" followed by a roaring reception and a room full of smiles. Willy Mason is definitely a case of "watch this space". If his name is unfamiliar to you today I can only recommend that you give him a listen.

Oh, and also, he comes across as a genuinely good bloke!