So the last time I almost saw Micah P. Hinson was at Glastonbury last year, when his back injury kept him away. Since then Mr Hinson has snuck back into London at the end of last year to play one of my favourite venues, the Union Chapel, where he publicly proposed to his girlfriend. Was I there? No (I would have blubbed - she said yes). Now he’s playing a tiny Hoxton do, and I won’t be there either… got some tickets for his July show at Bush Hall and it turns out I’m away. Should have checked before I bought them.
So I’m going to miss him again. This is almost fitting, as there’s a powerful streak of disappointment and loss and regret to Micah’s songs, mixed with anger and passion. But it’s still really galling - his support slot for the Earlies was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen and I suspect he’s still just as fierce and gentle live as he was then.
Anyway. Last week in the US, in Boston’s excellent Newbury Comics, I managed to find last year’s EP ‘A Dream of Her’, which I had not been able to find in the UK (though I now realise it’s on ITunes, which also seems to say something Micah-esque about looking for something that’s under your nose). It’s beautiful, as I might have expected. Only question is which of the three songs to feature here: forlorn piano ballad ‘Me and You’, ‘A Dream of Her’, which starts as an instrumental then builds into a typically widescreen-but-intimate song, with some heartbreaking strings; or ‘The Dissapearing’ (sic), more piano balladry. First one, by a nose, and one from an earlier album just to sway the doubters.
‘Me and You‘ - Micah P. Hinson - A Dream Of Her
‘Seems Almost Impossible‘ - Micah P. Hinson - Micah P. Hinson and the Opera Circuit
Buy the EP on ITunes (nearly 15 minutes for £2.37!), or head to Boston. Micah’s page is here.
JKneale
[...] while I will be missing Micah P Hinson’s gig at Bush Hall in July, I will be rushing out to buy the new CD, Micah P Hinson and The Red Empire Orchestra, as soon as I [...]