Sam Hare at the Albion

By Elin Berta

Tuesday August 16, 2011

Sunday night at the Albion was blues night. Well, sort of. And the minor chord devotees that gathered at the cozy Hammersmith Road pub certainly gave their undivided attention to south Londoner Sam Hare and his acoustic guitar as he performed two sets of originals and covers.

The crowd’s unerring focus on Sam surprised him. And he candidly admitted to the crowd that he didn’t expect people to stop chatting just to listen!

I didn’t really know what to expect from the 40-year-old musician - but I wouldn’t call all his songs ’blues’ in a strict, historical sense. And that’s probably something that Sam would agree with himself. For his debut album, Down to the Sea, he described it as a mix of blues, country, soul and rock’n’roll - and it was that mix you could hear on Sunday night.

During his two-set-gig Sam was definitely at his best when he tackled his own material. He opened the gig with Moving Through Georgia, which I thought was a cover version since it didn’t come across as authentic. But as he moved on to Stealing From the Queen he started to impress as he got a bit more comfortable and the crowd sunk a few more beers.

While Sam is an impressive musician, not all his songs are. A friend that came with me to the gig (and who is a big blues fan) said: "Blues is all about pain, I have to feel the pain to appreciate the music."

But the rest of the crowd at the pub seemed in a state of rapture, sitting quietly throughout the whole gig. The loudest applause he got was at the end, as he tied up the second set with an amazing guitar solo.

And the Albion? I’m looking forward to the next time I stop by. Especially since the summer is away, it’s good to know that London is blessed with places like it, where live music mingles with beautiful pints of ale.

And I think landlord Chris Slater may be right when he says his is the best pizza in west London. 

For more details, visit: www.samhare.com (opens new window) or www.downthealbion.com (opens new window).

Photograph by Al Stuart