Simone Felice, The Cluny, Newcastle
- Written by Lee Hammond
The ever wonderful Simone Felice has been on an extensive UK tour in support of his new LP Strangers and tonight we have the pleasure of catching him at one of Newcastle’s most popular venues - The Cluny. We arrive in plenty of time to catch this evening's support in the form of Dan Whitehouse, who hails from Wolverhampton. We cram into an already packed out room to catch Dan in action.
He has a beautiful voice which is coupled with a knack for writing amazing songs akin to that of tonight’s headline act. Wowing the crowd with tracks like ‘Somebody Loves You' he truly warms up this evening's packed crowd and with only a very short break to catch our breath, Simone soon takes to the stage. It’s clear from the outset that Simone enjoys his trips across the River Geordie, and this evenings set is comprised of songs from his back catalogue and the aforementioned new LP Strangers. The first song, ‘Molly-O’, is a really upbeat energetic track and when listening closely to the lyrics it's not difficult to guess what the subject matter is but it’s a great track all the same.
Simone has such an amazing breadth of songs, and as such is able to switch between the most upbeat to some of the most morose tracks in a heartbeat. With ‘Dawn Brady’s Son’ for example, perhaps the best exponent of the more emotional side of this evenings set; you can see the pain in Simone’s eyes. He has the most expressive face with these intensely wild eyes. As he scans the crowd, he leans out with his microphone, delivering these powerful lyrics, the crowd in the palm of his hand. Other set highlights include Felice delving into the back catalogues of The Felice Brothers and The Duke And The King with tracks like ‘Don’t Wake The Scarecrow’ and ‘Shaky.’
There's an amazing relationship with tonight's audience, even in this heavily packed room he manages to work the crowd effortlessly; each and every song throughout is met rapturous applause, with tracks like ‘If You Ever Get Famous’ having such a deep meaning and being delivered with a weighted sincerity worn on his torn sleeves. As we watch on, it's hard not to notice the crowd falling at his feet. ‘Charade’ has the crowd falling over themselves too, as Simone delivers the intensely powerful lyrics. Is this song about his past life? Who knows but whoever the guy he’s based this on is one poor soul.
Overall this evening it's plain to see why Simone is one of our favourite artists. He has an undeniably brilliant rapport with his audience and his songs are filled with lyrics that are full of love but equally full of pain. His presence in the room tonight is larger than life as he beats the hell out of his drum kit one minute, before gently strumming his guitar the next. Simone is truly an underestimated talent.