A healthy crowd of die-hards defied the freezing cold temperatures this Friday at the Static Gallery, in the hope that Christmas had come early in the form of Davyhulme troubadour Jim Noir.

They couldn’t have come to a better place, for Noir’s brand of sunny psychedelia would be more than capable of warming the coldest of hearts, never mind a mere sub-zero reading on the thermometer.

Noir didn’t waste any time endearing himself either, to those in the audience less familiar with his easy, affable way, gently berating his tardy drummer for being late on stage while the band waited to crack into the first song of what would be a short but sweet set (Noir was nursing a sore throat).

When they eventually got started, the set featured tracks taken from his two albums (2005’s Tower of Love, and 2008’s self titled effort), and recently released EP, Zooper Dooper. The new songs, including the low key and melancholic Life, slotted in seamlessly alongside old favourites such as Eanie Meany to which a good third of those present broke into a joyous full-on boogie.

There is a chorus of surprise and disappointment when Noir announces the next song would be the last. Then, playing with the conventions of how a gig works, he explains the band would now ‘pretend’ to leave the stage and we would be required to cheer for more, at which point they would return. On doing this, Noir remarks: “I can’t believe you wanted us back so much!”

The encore, including a winning rendition of the catchy song you didn’t know you knew, My Patch, results in another spontaneous outburst of dancing from the crowd, who eventually, somewhat reluctantly disperse back into the freezing cold night from whence they came.

http://jimnoir.com/