Live: Sweet Billy Pilgrim @ Hoxton Bar & Kitchen.

by | Apr 25, 2015

Coming from the roots of a self-starting band, experimental folk-rockers Sweet Billy Pilgrim didn’t begin recording in studios until third album Crown and Treaty in 2012, with everything preceding that famously recorded in a garden shed, including 2009 Mercury Prize-nominated sophomore album Twice Born Men. And it is that struggle to get themselves out there and heard with really limited resources that lends itself to their quirky and local-band feel.

Tim Elsenburg (Kalpesh Patel)

Tim Elsenburg (Kalpesh Patel)

With fourth album Motorcade Amnesiacs due out in May, the four-piece – expanded to six on stage – hit East London’s Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen to preview their forthcoming release. Stating from the outset that the band would be playing new material which may go wrong and joking that he’d likely trip over things on stage and set things on fire, front man Tim Elsenburg gave a shout out to some of his students from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, where he teaches song-writing, before launching into new album track Make It So.

Amnesiacs track Slingshot Grin was next before Elsenburg looked out to the crowd, shielding his eyes from the stage lights and asked if Victoria was out in the audience. Once he’d shared a wave with her, he explained to the crowd “I’m just trying to identify people I know from the Internet”. He then asked if Isabel was there; “She’s travelled all the way from the planet of Spain” he told of the somewhat embarrassed girl stood in front of the stage. New track Tyrekickers was dedicated to Isabel by Elsenburg as he handed over lead vocal duties to the band’s American singer and multi-instrumentalist Jana Carpenter.

Jana Carpenter (Kalpesh Patel)

Jana Carpenter (Kalpesh Patel)

Crown and Treaty track Joyful Reunion was next, prompting engagement from the crowd to a known favourite, followed by Twice Born Men track Future Perfect Tense. The song ended with what Elsenburg jokingly referred to a “Queen salute”, which he suggested all future Sweet Billy Pilgrim audiences would perform upon closing of the track. This prompted calls from the crowd for a repeat performance, which the band obliged to by repeating the last few lines of the song and, of course, the salute.

Tim Elsenburg (Kalpesh Patel)

Tim Elsenburg (Kalpesh Patel)

Drummer Alistair Hamer quipped that the band weren’t used to playing gigs so they hadn’t produced a setlist, and while the show clearly didn’t flow perfectly smoothly, with one of the band’s on stage laptops crashing, the band were fully aware of the order of material sans running order and were perfectly tight in their delivery. “To all the lovers in the house, you’re at the wrong f***ing gig” the bespectacled front man jested inducing laughter from the East London crowd.

Tim Elsenburg (Kalpesh Patel)

Tim Elsenburg (Kalpesh Patel)

The main set closed with the first single to be taken from Motorcade Amnesiacs, Coloma Blues, of which Elsenburg and Carpenter argued over the true title. The frontman then suggested that the song would encourage mosh pits at Sweet Billy Pilgrim gigs in the future. Crown and Treaty song Kracklite closed the night with the frontman making a call for the band to stay on the stage in-between main set and encore.

Jana Carpenter (Kalpesh Patel)

Jana Carpenter (Kalpesh Patel)

Elsenburg is a clear extrovert, seemingly gaining as much from conversational engagement with his audience as from sharing new material resulting in an entertaining show. And while Carpenter isn’t quite as vocal between songs, her quivering bluesy voice compliments the overall sound resulting in an engaging forum for storytelling.

Tim Elsenburg (Kalpesh Patel)

Tim Elsenburg (Kalpesh Patel)

Photograph and Words by Kalpesh Patel. Sweet Billy Pilgrim @ Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen on 14/04/2015.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000ifpAnYnKAbM” g_name=”Sweet-Billy-Pilgrim” f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”t” f_fullscreen=”t” f_show_watermark=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_mtrx=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”600″ height=”450″ f_constrain=”t” bgcolor=”#ffffff” bgtrans=”t” btype=”new” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” twoup=”t” trans=”flip” tbs=”4000″ f_ap=”t” linkdest=”c” f_topbar=”f” f_bbar=”f” f_bbarbig=”” f_smooth=”f” f_up=”f” target=”_self” ]

and the whole shoot here on RockShot: http://rockshot.photoshelter.com/gallery/Sweet-Billy-Pilgrim/G0000ifpAnYnKAbM

    HAAL (Jess Agnew)

    HAAL Return With New Single ‘Plate 43 (…Or Standing on the Toes of Giants)’

    Borderless four-piece HAAL have returned with a new single titled Plate 43 (…Or Standing on the Toes of Giants). The single comes on the heels of an incendiary year for the band which saw them release their Thurston Moore-approved EP Back To Shilmarine to widespread plaudits, leading to remixes by JUICE (Ollie Judge of Squid) and Water From Your Eyes, as well as UK tour dates and festival appearances such as ArcTanGent, Outer Town, Wanderlust, and more.

    Tide Lines (Nathan Dunphy)

    Tide Lines Drop New LP ‘Glasgow Love Story’

    Tide Lines’ ascent continues today, with the release of their highly anticipated fourth album Glasgow Love Story via their own Tide Lines Music label. The album includes the recent single Better Days, Homeward Bound., double A-side single By The Quayside / Leaving Town , and Cherry Blossom Sunset.

    Jon Allen (Press)

    Jon Allen Shares New Single ‘Midnight Oil’

    Jon Allen’s new album project Seven Dials is rich with evocative narrative postcards of what life might have been like for the typical 18th century Londoner. And as his singles Down With The Tide, White Gold, The Shadow and Nine Lives have shown, while the events and circumstances back then were often very different, people’s intrinsic behaviour and motivations are almost unchanged. That’s something which is especially true of his new single Midnight Oil.

    Andrew Spice (Press)

    Andrew Spice Pays Tribute To The Unconditional Love Of Pets With Single ‘Gentle Sentinel’

    As any pet owner knows, the relationship between people and our pawed friends changes dramatically over time and the love between a pet and its owner is a unique one – and often responsible for saving one in challenging times. This is something that Andrew Spice shared with his late, beloved cat Bea, who he pays tribute to with his new single Gentle Sentinel.

    The newly named Woodsies Area of Glastonbury Festival 2023 (Kalpesh Patel)

    Glastonbury Festival 2025: Woodsies And The Tree Stage Unveil A Spellbinding Lineup

    The wait is over: Glastonbury Festival has lifted the curtain on its 2025 Woodsies and Tree Stage lineups, revealing an audacious mix of euphoric headliners, genre-pushing newcomers, and immersive soundscape creators. Together, these twin stages promise to offer festivalgoers something rare: a place to feel, think, move, and breathe within the wild and wondrous edges of Worthy Farm.

    Amy Macdonald (Olivia Rose)

    Amy Macdonald Announces New LP ‘Is This What You’ve Been Waiting For?’ + Tour Dates

    Amy Macdonald’s gift for crafting positive, uplifting songs from relatable stories of triumphs, struggles and hope...
    Andrew Cushin (Press)

    Andrew Cushin Shares ‘New World Blazing’ Alongside Tour News

    Firmly established as an artist’s artist with the likes of Noel Gallagher, Sam Fender, Louis Tomlinson and Pete Doherty all in his corner, Andrew Cushin is primed to rise to the next level with the 2nd May release of his second album Love Is For Everyone. Building upon his acclaimed debut Waiting For The Rain, he now takes the next step towards the new record by sharing the single New World Blazing.

    Hurts (Press)

    Hurts Celebrate 15 Years Of ‘Happiness’ With Vinyl Release And Tour

    It’s been 15 years since Hurts released their debut album Happiness, a record which has since cast a towering...

    Pin It on Pinterest

    Share This

    Share Thing