Ren Harvieu

There once were some choir boys in cassocks, Who checked out a venue in Hassocks... Actually, that's not true. There were no choirboys, but last night Viv and I did pay our first visit to a venue, one we'd never heard of before. This is obviously unusual. Like footie fans who traipse to every ground in the land, we very rarely hear of anything going on at a venue to which we've not been, let alone not heard of. It doesn't even have its own Facebook check-in location (!). The Mid-Sussex Music Hall in Hassocks, a place I assumed was fictional (being relatively new to Sussex), is a large back room at a pub called, imaginatively, The Hassocks. If you walk in the wrong door, which we did, it could take an eternity to wander its Tardis-like interior before finding the connecting door. Luckily for us, someone coming through the door recognised our lost expressions and ushered us through. The room is large with a small bar at one end, a tall stage at the other with, quirkily and sometimes annoyingly, a toilet on either side. So yes, even during the performance, either door opens and closes with regularity as patrons notice how much they've drunk. Anyway, to the draw that got us to Hassocks for the first time. I've seen Ren Harvieu and the Magic Numbers before, separately, but both due to associations with Ed Harcourt. Like David Bowie and Brian Eno, Ed seems to link most of the artists I listen to. Last night, Ren (short for Lauren) and Romeo Stodart of the Magic Numbers, both a duo and a couple, played the second date of a small tour in anticipation of some music they have recorded together. Resplendent in stage outfits for the "Ren and Romeo Show", with metallic ink phrases like "Dirty Old Town" (Salford) and "Renegade Princess" (how Romeo sees Ren) painted on their suits, they take to the stage and perform their own opening theme song. Their suits are highly personal, but reminded me of some of the stage outfits that Prince wore. They play songs like Open Up Your Heart (hers) and Love Me Like You (his), as well as newer material we were privileged to hear for the first time. Ren has only had two albums in 13 years in what can only be described as a stop-start career, but Romeo describes seeing her perform on Later with Jools Holland in 2012 and being captivated. When she demurs, he says, "I've been captivated by you ever since, goddammit!". It turns out he emailed her to suggest working together on the basis of the TV appearance, produced her second album and now here they are. They are both so clearly talented, but last night somewhat daunted by going public again after another hiatus. Ren tells the audience after one old song, "I forgot how emotional it is, playing live, singing these old songs again, all these feelings..." to which Romeo says, "That's why we play new songs". Supported by Felix Holt, a man with more than a few Bob Dylan songs going around his head and looking like a cross between his muse and General Custer, this was a really pleasant evening and a treat to try a new venue that gets us home the right side of midnight. Afterwards, I told Romeo that I'd been introduced to the music of Magic Numbers by Ed Harcourt and he replied that he'd been introduced to Ren through Ed's involvement in her debut album. So triangulation complete. Ed has linked us all back together again.