Earlier in March I was lucky enough to catch Benjamin Francis Leftwich at an intimate gig at London’s age-old Borderline. It seems in this instance venue and act were perfectly aligned both exuding comfort, intimacy, and a down-to-earth feel.
Leftwich managed to slink on the stage almost without the crowd’s detection. He spoke about his first and problematic Pedicab ride En route to the gig and then quietly began. His live performance is just as you’d want it to be, soft, personable and very understated. Undeniably, his songs follow a certain blueprint and they merge easily into a seamless set.
Leftwich occasionally broke rhythm by performing songs in a whispered tone that almost fell below human hearing. Whilst the variation was welcome, and the crowd were willingly quiet, the backdrop of bar noise proved to be a little too much competition for my liking.
This aside it was an incredibly humble performance from a rising talent. If you’re feisty enough to fight your way to the front I’d definitely try to catch him at the Camden Crawl, later this month.
