Society of the Golden Slippers: Roo Panes at the 2 & 8 Club

The Society of the Golden Slippers holds guest list only events to showcase upcoming talent in the music world. Every third Tuesday of the month, they put on a show at Morton’s 2 & 8 Club in Mayfair. On 6^th August, singer-songwriter Roo Panes played a show in the club’s atmospherically candle-lit basement.

Back in June, Panes was the opening act for Lanterns on the Lake and he filled the sizeable hall space with his singing. Last night, his voice was as powerful as ever and carried fantastically. He had no problems reaching every corner of the room, appearing comfortable in any pitch, high or low. 

Panes’ verses and choruses are often punctuated by vocalisations and bouts of wordless crooning. Little Giant began with a high-pitched soft lupine howl that stretched out before dropping back into his regular words and tones.

He’s almost timid between songs, and his singing voice doesn’t match the speaking voice. This makes a surprising amount of difference, with the realisation that Panes sounds a lot like other American singer-songwriters brought into acute focus.  It cannot be disputed that Panes has a fantastic voice, but it’s almost like the voice and the artist behind it are slightly disconnected.

Panes brings some very familiar guitar melodies and lyricism to the table. His songs are instantly recognisable in feeling and tone. His voice is the main draw: it’s one of those rare voices that seems to have its own presence. And yet, if it not for the fact that he can sing with such singularity, there’d be very little with which to identify his music. It’s difficult to shake the feeling that you’re not listening to an individual artist: You’re listening to a specific tone within a musical subgenre.

Francis Davies
Photos: Allie Swanrumpha

For further information and future events visit Roo Panes’ website here.

Watch the video for Little Giant here: