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It's a big year for Beth Jeans Houghton and her band, The Hooves of Destiny. 
The music biz has never been reknowned for its warmth and charity - and these are colder times than we've experienced since the 30s. So when you've been given the big build-up, as BJH has over the past couple of years, it's imperative that you deliver. 
The 22 year old singer-songwriter post-punky-glam- psyche-freakbeat folkstrel  (all of those daft epithets actually do apply in her case) can write - the new album "Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose" is chock-full of beautifully-crafted compositions. 
And she gives great interviews - in print, on telly and especially on the radio. But can she - and the band - deliver in person? 
They've earned their spurs the hard way and the traditional way - playing live, in small venues, at huge festivals, in the UK and across Europe. That experience is showing real benefits - just over a year ago, the band often stumbled happily but haphazardly through Beth's often complex and almost always quirky song-structures. Gone now are the days of drummer Dav Shiel using an old suitcase for a bass-drum, gone are the days when violinist Findlay MacAskill would crack-up mid-song and simply caper round the singer till she too choked with laughter. Instead, bassist Rory Gibson and guitarist / trumpeter Ed Blazey lock in firmly, and, aided and abetted by Sheil's crashing just-ahead-of-the-beat style, The Hooves gallop away merrily, allowing Beth to ride majestically over the top with her swooping, keening vocals. 
On this occasion, Eric's was about half-full: many more Liverpudlians venturing out on a chilly, damp midweek night to catch the rising stars than had attended their last visit to Liverpool, at the CUC in the autumn. The crowd were very much on the band's side, if perhaps a bit shyly reluctant to accept Beth's invitations to fill up the space at the front of the stage. Instead, that space was occupied more by photographers - BJH and the Hooves really are grabbing attention and that means the lenses are out, big-style. 
BJH herself was resplendent in a blue and red patterned jumper, and scarlet hot-pants over black tights. With her Marie Antoinette hair a bit more swept back than usual, and a slash of vivid scarlet lipstick, she looked like a neon-lit version of a Parisian mime: until she opened her mouth and let that voice pour out. 
The brand-new debut album was well represented, with gems such as 'Lilliput', 'Nightswimmer', 'Dodecahedron' and the frankly barkingly brilliant 'Sweet Tooth Bird' all given driven, frisky airings. The album is labour of love - each song produced in a manner aimed to bring its best features to the fore. Live, the songs prance and canter and gallop - stripped of the extra detail of the studio versions, they have strength to stand apart in this spare guise. (Beth: "No keyboards tonight - our keys player isn't here." - Pause - "He got a proper job, which is is nice.")
The lack of keys affected the choice of material for the set-list, but allowed them to perform non-album material old and new, including a b-side from last year, "Your Holes", which was a highlight. Rounding off the set with should-have-been-a-hit "I Will Return, I Promise", the band then invited support act Goodnight Lenin to crowd onto the stage and join in a raucous and almost-always-in-tune version of Madonna's 'Like A Prayer', which was more fun than it should've been. Acceding to demands for an encore, BJH and the Hooves then rattled through the kiss-off punk thrash 'Franklin Benedict', which allowed a few more rude words to sully the dank air circling the cellar at Eric's. 
A word about support act Goodnight Lenin: great band, on the rise. Tight, harmonised Americana-via-Brum, they're fans of Neil Young, CSNY and Dylan - but in a good way. They take the best of their heroes' style and attitude, and mingle their own original take: strong tunes, clever and poignant lyrics. 
This is a great show to catch while they're on tour. Best of all, these bands are young, fresh and full of as yet unbruised passion - they make music with a joy and fervour that fills and lifts the soul.  Chatting to Beth and to members of GL was refreshing - open, affable, and delighted to be doing what they so clearly feel they just have to do - make great music for our enjoyment. Not at all a bleak night after all. (NB - one slight quibble: the sound could have been better balanced, especially for Beth's vocals, as some of her barmy, splendid, capering lyrics were lost amidst the racket, which is a shame.)  

Beth Jeans Houghton &amp; The Hooves of Destiny / Goodnight Lenin

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The world famous Eric's is back in action again after 31 years, with a highly eclectic range of shows.

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