Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
TJ and Murphy provided the harmonic dichotomy on a stage that had been and would be dominated in the early part of the evening by two female musicians, one on her own but with a voice that could break down barriers and playfully tease affection out of the sulkiest stone and the other whose refreshingly bright and breezy attitude reminded the world that a smile can be the most effective weapon in anyone’s arsenal.
These two musicians are snug, so well fitting is the choral backdrop with guitars that play as if an spectral being had appeared and taken up residence in the body of the strings, were on top form in the Zanzibar Club. For anyone who hadn’t caught the pair before, the surprise look of affection at the end of their set was a moment to savour. For they had finally seen what everybody else seems to be aware of, that TJ and Murphy are a truly inspirational couple of musicians.
The pair gently weaved their way through the set, the playing of songs almost a second reaction to the soft power of their voices, voices that resonate male gentleness in a world where the continued raising of voices gets louder everyday as the planet lurches into yet another crisis.
Opening their set inside the Zanzibar Club in support of Emma Stevens’ debut performance in the vicinity, T.J. and Murphy played the song Joe Crazy Rose* to great applause. The song was one of those moments in life where the songwriter captures a friend in lyrics and the person becomes a hero to a packed venue. The artistry in which this skill depends is untold but full of meaning. It is the musical equivalent of taking their picture and placing it in the National Portrait Gallery, everybody knows who they are but only the singer truly gets them.
With such a short time on stage, TJ and Murphy performed a great set of vocal and guitar arrangements and each song played was greeted with respect and deference. Songs such as Old Dog, In A Heartbeat, a stirring cover of Bombay Bicycle Club’s track Luna and a slowed down version of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark which was simply breath-taking, are of the highest order and showed just why this duo are so well worth catching live.
A great evening of music inside the Zanzibar Club made all the more special by the appearance of these two fine men.
Ian D. Hall
Photograph by Ian D. Hall