Monday 04/02/08 Laura Veirs @ Night and Day Cafe, Manchester

It seems that some artists will forever be doomed to the outskirts of the popular music crowd, releasing consistently good material but forever toiling the small venue circuit. Laura Veirs seems to be one such artist. It could be that her librarian-look and understated stage manner don’t mesh well alongside the Doherty/Winehouse and general Britney craziness car crashes of the world, but having released six solo albums (although the lady herself has dismissed her sparse self-titled debut) crammed with heart-warming and intelligent songs, the complacent ones loss is our gain.

Shorn of her usual backing crew, The Saltbreakers, for this latest tour of the British Isles, Veirs is able to shine the spotlight on her dexterous acoustic finger-picking, dulcet tones, and literate, bittersweet country-tinged song-writing with added focus. Album number five, ‘Year Of Meteors’, centrepiece ‘Magnetized’ is given the new folk-du jour loop pedal treatment, layering her inventive acoustic melodies and delicate vocal (even finding room for an eager fans unexpected cheer) to a quietly devastating, at times, otherworldly effect, with attendees remaining respectfully hushed throughout. Even when left to a basic set up, courtesy of some technical gremlins somewhere along the line, Veirs oozes confidence in the intimate- but increasingly warm and sweaty- surroundings, adding weight to songs such as ‘Wrecking’, ‘Nightingale’ and a haunting reading of early favourite ‘Through December’.

Finishing up her hour-plus set, and making her way from the stage to sign CDs for the swell of eager fans congregating around the merchandise stand, the show of appreciation is humbling, with few in attendance unlikely to forget this in a hurry.