Raw energy sets Langhorne gig on fire

Bermuda was given the rare privilege of watching a musician, who is touching the edge of fame, perform in an intimate 150-seat setting. 

Langhorne Slim (Sean Scolnik), accompanied only by his semi-acoustic guitar, didn’t disappoint at the Bermuda Society of Arts’ sell-out gig on Friday night bringing a raw energy to the stage and an audience to its feet. 

In an age where a polished production is strived for through auto tune and perfectly pitched pop music, it was refreshing to hear an artist who expresses pure emotion and authentic passion for his craft. The imperfections in his delivery, like a cracked voice or slipped note, were what gave it its charm.

Slim has just been personally invited by US chat show host Conan O’Brien to perform on his late night show for a second time, he did a European tour with folk heroes The Lumineers while his song The Way We Move is being used on the Windows 8 Commercial. He is riding on a new wave of folk music that has rocketed the likes of The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons to fame in recent years. 

But why is the artist still playing in sleepy little Bermuda? Luckily for us, the singer/songwriter has a place in his heart for the island having made good friends with local promoter Jon Legere while studying in New York. He also wanted to bring his mother here for her 60th birthday so we even got to see her perform a duet with her son.

Much of the set was laced with love-inspired lyrics including a tribute to Slim’s grandfather — A Song For Sid — from his latest album The Way We Move. Another stand out track from the 2012 album was Fire about a former lover, that featured Slim’s trademark wail.

Towards the end of the set, he played a real crowd-rouser that made everyone jump to their feet, grab a partner and dance. The atmosphere came alive as he moved through the dancing crowd. It’s a shame he chose a softer tune to follow it — everyone sat back down, where an upbeat song, like Rebel Side of Heaven would have kept them going. 

Slim was accompanied on the night by fellow artists Gavin ‘Djata’ Smith of Chewstick and Daniel Frith (aka Uzimon). Smith performed a set of folksy originals and covers including Knocking on Heaven’s Door which went down well with the crowd. The set suffered a few technical difficulties — a loud crackling amp — but Smith muscled through and the show went on. 

Uzimon switched up his usual show bringing a little festive flair to the evening.

He had been billed to perform a new solo play titled The Dumb Class but the show wasn’t introduced as such and was, for the most part, an Uzimon Christmas special. 

He had the crowd in fits of laughter performing his mischievous version of The Twelve Days of Christmas — gifts on the list included black market kidneys, concurrent prison sentences and others unfit for printing in a family newspaper.