Kete ( as in Pete ) had the pleasure of opening up the Big Entrance stage for C2C 2017 looking something akin to Jeremy Clarkson’s younger brother, with just his guitar and a handily placed ipad for company. Opening with “The Rain King”, a five minute epic initially painting him as a Liverpudlian Neil Young. In truth I suspect that the Club WM stage would have suited better for Kete to give us a chance to really concentrate on his storytelling, but he gave it a good shot in the cavernous, slightly chilly O2 foyer.
The songs were mainly a preview of those due to be on his next album, the delicate “You Stole My Joy” for his Grandma stood out, while his hometown past was detailed on “North Side Of The River”, which had a touch of the style of Townes Van Zandt about it and was thoroughly engrossing. It was detailed with enough references to really allow you to build up an almost mental picture of the place. With songs like “I Used To Be A Winner” it was perhaps not the most uplifting set of the weekend but at all times your eyes were drawn to the stage waiting to hear the next line.
There was a glimpse of humour at the end as he closed out on a Bob Dylan song, “Don’t know why - he never plays any of mine” quipped Kete. It was certainly enough to send me over to the merch stand to investigate further, and the singles for “The Rain King”, and the highly recommended “White River Road” are both definitely worth investigating if you like your singer songwriters.