Phil Gyford

Go and catch them live for a trully beautiful experience.

16th Joseph's Well - Leeds
17th Water Rats - London
18th Barfly - Liverpool
21st Fez Club - Sheffield
22nd Rescue Rooms - Nottingham

Though you might like to know how the Liverpool gig went....

Ella Guru take the stage delicately. They have to, with eight people on a tiny stage littered with equipment, speed is not available. This is a band who if your going away on holiday you want packing your case because they can create a veritable tardis out of a very small space. They also create a very compact sound, gentle, quiet and very beautiful. It washes over you, taking you to the edge where you think everything is going to cut loose and begin to get a little noisy, teasing you and then bringing the sound down a notch. It's hypnotic and lovely. Throughout there is much humour as John's capo buggers itself up, Kate has a puckish face and the most delightfully breathy vocal style that complements John's whispered vocals. Both they and the band giggle their way through the gig, a band at ease with themselves and having a good time, it's a beguiling sight indeed. Scott's pedal steel colours their soundscape and delight of delights for me is the bass section, bowed double bass and semi acoustic together it's a killer. Combine this with muted cornet, gentle keyboards and you've got a mix of sounds that you just want to bathe in. 'On a Boat' is special, 'Got My Mojo Working' nicely twisted and funny, 'On a Beach' a work of great beauty. 'Heroes of Folk' just makes me fall in love with the band and the encore 'Little Bobby Dylan' is great with the band nearly rocking out with it. There is a cracking album in this set list demanding to be made, here's hoping Ella Guru go away and make it (apologies to those Guru's I couldn't remember the name of, there are a load of you about and I think there maybe multiple Nicks, apologies if I got the titles of the songs wrong too).