PHOTOS: Ian Shaw solo – When Joni Met Bowie at Pizza Express Dean Street

By ljazzn on 8 December 2016 • ( Leave a comment )

Ian Shaw. Photo credit and ©: Victor Guidini

Sebastian writes:

I managed to catch part of Ian Shaw‘s solo show When Joni Met Bowie at Pizza Express last night. What Victor Hugo Guidini has captured brilliantly in these four photos is Shaw’s ability to transform the room with quicksilver, rapidly switching changes of mood, in a show which constantly zig-zags along a carefully thought-out path from Joni to Bowie and back again.

There was one hilarious episode, a devastatingly accurate spoof on James Taylor singing Fire and Rain, as a reflection on a possible – though not definite source for Sweet Baby James. That leavened the mood for the more quietly reflective and soulful songs, such as the title track from Hejira – a definite highlight.

Ian Shaw. Photo credit and ©: Victor Guidini

Gig-going in December is not for the faint-hearted. There is the ever-present danger of confronting a world in which the whole month, the only purpose of evening life is for there to be a non-stop and raucous office party. In that unpromising context, it has to be said that Ian Shaw performed a minor miracle last night. His artistry kept the Pizza Dean Street audience receptive, quietly attentive, and focused. I can only view that as a welcome surprise, rather like a totally unexpected present.