The Steve Pilgrim Band Simply Shines at EBGBs, Liverpool [Show Review]

Last year Steve Pilgrim released Beautiful Blue, an album of incredible love songs produced by Paul Weller. The album has grown in beauty as the months have passed, and last night saw the final gig of his tour, in his hometown of Liverpool, following its cancellation in December.

Steve has been around a while now, drumming with Howie Payne’s Stands, before taking his seat behind Paul Weller as part of his brilliant line-up. As a solo artist in his own right, Steve is an incredible singer/songwriter who recalls a golden age of record making, somewhere between the ’60s and ’70s, but with crisp contemporary production. An example of how accomplished Steve’s work is can be measured by his gig at Liverpool’s St Michael in the Hamlet last Autumn when the Modfather himself turned up to play piano and guitar as part of Steve’s band. The audience may have expected at least one Weller song, but no, he sat way back and let Steve do his thing, uninterrupted. It was a special night.

Tonight, we find him in one of Liverpool’s tiniest venues, EBGBs, the basement club on Duke Street that is almost a twin for the original Cavern. I imagine it more like The Cavern than the 1980s replica that replaced it.

Supported by Jonny Taylor, another local artist who fits in well with Steve’s crowd, his short act hits the mark. Straight honest songs with direct lyrics, from standard love songs to one concerning being woken up by the police. Johnny’s singles, “Walk Along The River” and “In The Sky,” sound very different with their full production than the pared-back solo performance tonight; the former does sound like late-era George Harrison. No issue with that at all.

Having played regularly with the Liverpool legend Edgar (The Stairs) Jones, he is in good company but should build up a bigger fanbase on his own merits. Check him out.

Steve’s crowd is a funny one, lots of wisecracks and shout-outs permeate the set, but they cannot distract from his lush euphoric sound. Since the earlier leg of the tour, the show now features less songs from the album and has a more career-perspective feel to it, reminding us that he is so much more than a balladeer.

The Steve Pilgrim Band at EBGBs gig poster

That said, the set begins with “Bread and Honey” from Beautiful Blue, with fragile-style guitar patterns; more of that later. It’s spine-tingling to hear live if you have been listening to this album regularly since its release.  Steve digs into his back catalogue for “Sunshine,” “Orange Bells of Honey,” and “How Many Ways,” suggesting that away from his album-promoting tour, this isolated gig is one for the die-hards. One soul in the crowd repeatedly asks for “Firecracker” from 2011’s Pixels and Paper album, but Steve teases her, not willing to stray from the setlist. She waits… impatiently.

Back to 2022 and “Don’t let the mirror break,” a song literally about “seeing yourself in the mirror,” is a highlight and another track from Beautiful Blue that brings with it a warm shiver. Martin Smith (Fresh from Michael Head’s Liverpool Food Aid event last night) provides a trumpet that completes the song and echoes Head’s earlier Liverpool bands, The Pale Fountains and Shack.

Steve’s band is tight as well, and the backing vocals of Rachel Jean Harris (an artist in her own right) only add to the dreamy air of his music. 2017’s “Love on your Side,” “Morning Skies” and “Put them in a Box” make an appearance as a perfect trio of songs from the Morning Skies album.

The mesmeric “Lifeboat” single brings us back up to date, followed by a song that Steve often performs but has never released, “Kindness that Keeps You,” dedicated to all the front-line workers who don’t get the appreciation or pay that they deserve. Cries of “Fuck the Tories” fill the small yet cavernous space.

“Keep Falling Down” picks up the pace, and “Firecracker” finally arrives, almost taking the form of a jazz round with everyone taking turns, including a killer drum solo from Tom Heel.

“Where our love goes” from the last album finishes the set, but the encore comes immediately with a moving cover of Paul Simon’s “American Tune.” Last time I reviewed Steve, I compared his style to fellow Liverpool singer/songwriter Gary Edward Jones, who had toured as Paul Simon in the “Something About Simon” stage show, this performance cemented that likeness. Steve admits it’s a rare thing to do a cover, but he has made this his own, so similar is the tone to the work on Beautiful Blue.

The rest of the band re-appear to the affectionate cry of “Shower of Shite” from one fan, no offence intended, I’m sure. New song, “Wishing Well,” goes down a storm and “Explode the Sun,” a live favourite from Pixels and Paper, rounds up the set, and it’s all over too soon.

Steve’s lengthy career keeps developing, and this album has established him as a real contender for even bigger audiences, despite this intimate room tonight. As suggested by Paul Weller’s support, both in his live and recorded work, he is an absolute star in his own right, but with his feet planted firmly on the ground. Here’s to the next album.