Live @ San Francisco Bathhouse, Wellington 30/10/12

It takes a brave person to quit their day job and spend months touring New Zealand; an even braver one to play acoustic folk at the San Francisco Bathhouse, traditionally the home of rock music in Wellington, on a Tuesday night. But Kieran Cooper has made the decision to work hard at being a solo artist and that’s all part of the journey for him. There’s no better way to hone musical talent than playing to different crowds every night of the week, seeing what works live and what doesn’t.

There weren’t many people in attendance on Tuesday, partly because the gig wasn’t well advertised, but also because Wednesday through Saturday have traditionally been the big nights for music in Wellington. But the people who did turn up were treated to some great tunes.

The gig started early, or at least early for the San Francisco Bathhouse, so we missed opening acts Kim Potter and Peter Baillie, but by all accounts they played well and made a strong impression on both the audience and Kieran too. When we arrived Kieran had just taken the stage (or, rather the floor). His confidence playing live is fantastic and he never faltered through his set, sharing snippets of stories about some of his songs, belting out several covers, including a great cover of God & His Motorbike by Fleur Jack, and a fantastic sounding Ryan Adams cover.

Kieran’s got a strong voice, and ample skill on the guitar, and seems to have developed a style that suits his abilities and talents well. It’s a sort of neo-folk, with a dark rock edge to it, delivered with real honesty and a clear passion for the music he’s making. It’s that depth that really made his music connect with the small crowd, and it’s that emotion within the music that will hopefully see the crowds grow as he continues on his music journey. It was clear from the audience reaction to the music that a real connection was made on Tuesday night.