Gig Review: Kevin Morby At Leeds Irish Centre

Kevin Morby plays a career spanning set of songs of cities and communities with support from friends.

“You know, when we arrived this afternoon there were people playing bingo right down here. And dancing” Kevin morby is speaking into one of the seven mics decorated with red and white roses at the Leeds Irish Centre, a community hub by day and a gig venue by night. “Don't be afraid of dancing neither” Morby finishes.

Morby and his band do their best to get the crowd moving as they tear through a set that spans the prolific career of an artist that refuses to sit still. There is the folk indie he is most synonymous with (Campfire, Wander), romantic gospel croons (Congratulations, Piss River) and indie rock (I Have Been to the Mountain, Dorothy).

Running through the entire set is Morby’s 2022 album This is a Photograph the imagery of which is printed on Morby’s patchwork camel coat. The title track is played twice, an urgent opener and the more conplentative early demo of the song played towards the end of the set. Rock Bottom is rollocking 50s rock ‘n’ roll, Five Easy Pieces is a gorgeous piano ballad.

Morby’s band is more than a supporting act and when opener Uwade joins the band on stage for a handful of songs, providing backing vocals and singing verses on Campfire and Bittersweet Tenessee in a rich, sharp voice, a captivated audience listens in awe.

Throughout the set Morby’s percussionist picks up a seemingly endless set of instruments, from saxophone to tambourine to cow bell to flute to keyboard. He looks a little rueful when, stood arms folded behind his back, he watches Morby play keys himself on Destroyer. But the biggest surprise is half way through set closer Coat of Butterflies, a love letter from Morby to Jeff Buckley, when the percussionist sings a verse with a mesmerising, nostalgic bite that causes with crowd to burst with euphoric applause.

It has been two years since This is a Photograph and for a man who used to boast about “having an album in my back pocket” there has been an unusually long wait for new material. But as he repeatedly says throughout the gig, he's been coming to Leeds for 15 years, so it's unlikely this crowd will have to wait long before he's back again, armed with new songs.