VENUE THE HALF MOON, LONDON DATE 21/09/2023
Though the notion of a band continuing well after the departure of a key member is hardly new, the idea of musicians who’ve backed a particular artist getting together after the singer has died is a novel one. Especially if the musicians in question never actually played together at the same time in the same place, even though they served the same master.
Held By Trees are a case in point. Most of the talent gathered here tonight – guitarist and bandleader David Joseph, lead guitarist Robbie McIntosh, drummer Paul Beavis, keyboardist Laurence Pendrous, Andy Panayi on flute, sax and clarinet and James Grant on stand-up and electric bass – backed Mark Hollis either with Talk Talk or in a solo capacity in the studio at points in his career. This proves to be both a strength and a not insurmountable Achilles’ heel for the band.
Make no mistake: Held By Trees are mighty fine musicians with each bringing considerable experience and talent to the party. As befits these studio veterans, the sound is balanced and polished to perfection and the instruments played with expertise. But they still have some distance to cover before they become a fully interacting band prepared to take risks while delivering a performance that conveys emotion and interaction. And with schedules that see each of the players earning their bread and butter for big-name artists, the required gelling may take longer than is necessary. Consequently, everything is just so, with nary a hint of grit to be seen.
Lacking a singer, Held By Trees’ material never quite soars and the languid pace conspires against them in a live setting. In The Trees, with its tremolo guitar, shuffling drums and rippling piano, sets the pace and for the large part stays there. Remaining in this milieu, McIntosh displays his six-string dexterity as he moves from the delays and echoes favoured by David Gilmour to the more twanging sounds of primetime Mark Knopfler.