Amy Wadge

Arriving at the Barfly with just a minute or so to spare, a quick visit the ladies' is in order - where I literally bump into a diminutive whirlwind of blond curls who goes "Whoaaaa!!!!!," holds me briefly in a vicelike greeting then flies out, grabbing her guitar en route before landing on stage like storm debris. Pheww...

After going it alone for a couple of years, Amy Wadge is about to achieve a long held ambition. Tonight, she launches her own band.

This new chapter starts with 'I Want It All', a jaunty strummed little number. The heady cocktail of nerves and excitement set to explode offstage moments earlier, has Amy throwing herself headlong into the moment. Almost as animated as David Gray, she's bobbing about to her music and really enjoying herself. 'Six Of One' is next, which turns out to be an anthem in waiting. Her sweet raspy voice has a wordy expressiveness to it that's similar to the way Ryan Adams choreographs his vocal phrases.

Although she has proved herself to be more than capable of handling stage life alone, the grafting in of Catatonia's former drummer Aled Richards, with bass and pedal steel player Jon Thomas, adds a depth, as well as width, to her sound that's previously been all too easily defined as folk. Richards in particular is a fabulous acquisition, as he delivers creative undercurrents and fills that don't force themselves onto the songs. Between them, Richards and Thomas are the safety net and the spring board, giving extra life and confidence to Amy's music.

Another new song 'Breathe' runs with a walking bass line and hi-hat accent. This one has a lot of potential, especially as a showcase for some very breathy, sultry vocals from Ms. Wadge. Between songs, she is at ease with the audience (several of whom sit at her feet) and talks voraciously. At one point, she tells of how she wrote 'Valley Boy' while missing her husband as she worked in France. Mid evening she performs 'Therapy,' one of her older songs with only acoustic guitar as backing. Now we've had a taste of the bigger sound, something seems to be lacking from this original way of doing things.

As a home crowd test run before heading out to France next year to support Sinead O'Connor in front of 40,000, this blueprint has great promise. Far from remaining easily pigeon holed as a female singer/songwriter with a homespun gravitation towards folk music, the newly padded out and enriched sound, courtesy of the guys, brings images of Caitlin Cary, formerly of Whiskeytown, or Beth Orton to the horizon.

Amy is a performer with no appetite for the instant fame game, so it will be interesting to see just how far this tiny powerhouse can go purely on the strength of her songs. The word is - very far indeed.