Tommy Scott at District for Hope Fest 2015. Photograph by Lis Garrett. Photograph used with kind permission by Lis Garrett.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9.5/10

First night endings are normally off the scale as performers set, perhaps unconsciously, a bar for the weekend to attain and beat. For Tommy Scott at District, deep within the creative belt of the city’s pulsating heart, the applause, the sheer scale of intimacy that the venue bestows and the startling set made sure which ever artist performs at this year’s Hope Fest has a big wall to climb just to even equal this performance.

The thought of a near stripped down set, of a night of space without the band being around may not be one that appeals to the more ardent of fans, however as Tommy proved with ease earlier in the year at Leaf, music is all about the song, not in the visualisation and as songs such as Begin Again, a storming bossanova type effect on Female of the Species, Avenging Angels, Neighbourhood and two sneak previews of songs to come in the next few months in the form of Treasure Chest and Dangerous Day, the night became the most splendid of musical endorsed parties.

Joined by the ever more illustrious emerging talent of Satin Beige on cello, the sounds of Space were transformed, they still had that cerebral beauty and beguiling confidence when played by the band, but as each rich note stormed through the crowd, wound themselves around the hearts of the joyful crowd and nestled in the fruit of its labours there was almost something new, something novel and contemporary about the way sounded, it was a sound that was not lost as Tommy Scott brought the final hour of music of the first day at District to a close with much tenderness and a smile that could have fulfilled and broken many hearts.

It was in the addition of Satin Beige to the proceedings that the rich texture of one of the most celebrated and loved bands of Liverpool took on a slightly different edge and the throbbing pulse of a cello being given so much responsibility was not only enjoyed but innovative and fresh. Add in the much admired Phil Hartley’s double bass playing and this would have been off the scale, thankfully Tommy Scott is too much of a gentleman to pour such extremes of wealth on to an evening where the message is more important than the music.

Finishing the evening with a re-run of both Female of the Species and Neighbourhood and with the festival organiser Anna Henney being given the proud task of joining both Tommy and Satin on stage, the music flowed and flowed. This was a night in which the music at District caught the imagination and in Tommy Scott’s sublime performance, this was a beauty in which to celebrate.

Ian D. Hall