Micah P Hinson - Union Chapel, London 29/04/14

If country music is about telling stories, then Micah P Hinson seems to be living out his own before your eyes, with the songs just an incidental part of the narrative. He rambles on openly in between, sometimes explaining the tales behind them, while at others a stream of consciousness just tumbles from him - “You know, people have started to get sick from nicotine poisoning from these things now”, he says as he sits down at an old upright piano with a black e-cigarette hanging from his mouth, to play the beautiful if almost painfully slow “I Ain’t Moving”.

Musically, his performance is far from polished; often misplaying chords, or at one point almost forgetting to play them all together as he loses himself staring up at the beautifully carved church ceiling. Yet it is his unpredictability that makes him consistently engaging to watch. The emotion in his deep yet wavering voice paints a picture that doesn’t come from practicing scales.

He is joined on stage for much of the performance by his wife Ashley Bryn Gregory, wearing a vintage brown dress that looks straight out of ‘Little House on the Prairie’, they seem to be singing just to each other, sharing the vintage chrome microphone to sing ‘Love, Wait For Me’, at first she’s so quiet it’s barely audible. On some songs she accompanies on the drums instead and it’s clear she’s not on stage for her musical abilities, but because she, too is part of the story. The two of them on stage invoke something reminiscent of Johnny Cash and June Carter. “Six years ago on this stage, this woman told me I’d better not propose, but I did. I’m glad I did”. With different characters it could be embarrassing to watch, but instead the overall effect is simple and charming.

The first half of the set he plays mainly songs from the most recent two albums, but when he returns for the encore, he explores more of his back catalogue, and when playing alone more of the pain and sadness that’s present on so many of his records comes through. “This is one of the most depraved songs I’ve ever written, and I’ve written a lot of depraved songs” he introduces “Take Off That Dress For Me”, telling a tale of bitter apathy as the up lit spotlights project silhouettes onto the walls of the chapel. At times the whole audience seems hypnotised, lost in the narrative spun by this fascinating character.

When he announces that he’ll be re-releasing his debut album The Gospel of Progress on vinyl later this year, it elicits a huge cheer from the crowd “I’ve not told anyone yet, but I finish the tour tomorrow and then I’ll be heading back home to remix and re-master so it’ll be ready to mark its 10th anniversary. I wouldn’t be here today without that record.

He finishes the set by inviting the cellist from the supporting band Buriers to join him for the final two songs, a nice addition after a set of mainly voice and acoustic guitar. Overall, seeing Micah P Hinson live is like being invited in to share a little piece of his world. It’s rare to see musicians who seem so genuine and open on stage, and even when the subject matter of the songs is so strange and dark he manages to make the audience feel very welcome to share in it.