Elijah James, Zanzibar. August 2014.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There is no way you could miss Elijah James, out in the open or as he sits down to perform infront of an audience. The quiet, modest, almost unassuming man has a following that is vocal and enjoys what he does and quite rightly so.
To start your set off with an Elvis Presley cover could be seen as musical suicide in some cases. In the wide open world of the copy, nobody gets more attention than the American singer who seems to have been imitated more often than a grand master painting, the near facsimile that hangs on the stage in the United States even has its own competition every year and whilst it might be good entertainment it somehow cheapens the way that we look at the man who was amongst the very finest at what he did, a true American icon photocopied so often that the toner has been bled dry.
The best way to pay homage to Elvis, the best way to perform one of his songs is too out do him, to ignore the sound-a-like for hire for parties, be yourself and let the talent shine through and for Elijah James that was exactly the point. Goosebumps don’t happen on their own, they don’t sit there waiting to jump out at you waving a flag saying that you are moved, they happen because what you hear gets to you and to hear Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling In Love in such a beautiful way, a near original way was to hear the person you love whisper in your ear and set the pupils on dilate mode. In a world of the terminal facsimile, Elijah James delighted the Zanzibar Club to the point of stunned ecstasy with his unprecedented uniqueness.
Modesty prevails though and despite the appreciation for his opener, Elijah James continued in the same modest way with tracks such A Perfect Death, Working Class Hero, Sleeping With Eyes Open, My Empire and So Glad That You’re Here and after each song, those that had gone out of their way to support the young guitarist hollered and cheered as if a large portion of the Kop had switched their object of their affection for the night. No longer King Kenny, no longer even the King, just a very enjoyable young man who smiled almost with a ready apology but who stirred musical passion within all inside the Zanzibar.
Very cool, very talented and very stirring!
Ian D. Hall