The Sentimental Tourists – Upstairs at Whelan’s – Live Review – 31/10/26

The upstairs venue at Whelan’s was packed out for the visit of Dave Long and Paul Page as the Sentimental Tourists.  Support came from Brian Mooney, aka The Next New Low, who accompanied himself on guitar and keyboard loops.  A gentle all-over-the-shop set, he played Hurt People, Dick and a heartfelt Nature, singing “you got to have fate” before thanking the non-existent band (guitar and keyboard!), finishing with Let’s Get Wasted.

Page and Long were joined by a drummer and bass player to round out the sound, and they powered through songs from their recent album Without Love We Expire.  Songs like Under the Waves were a bit noisier than the recorded version thanks to Paul Page’s guitar playing.  They weren’t flawless; Dave Long completely forgot the second verse of Ghosts, but this didn’t derail the band.

Page’s guitar playing really is the band’s not-so-secret weapon.  He provided guitar lines with great subtlety on slower material like Distant Rain and Witches Lane, as well as rocking up Happy Beatle and their superb new song A New Way.  This latter one was released a few weeks ago, definitely on the heavier side of their material with tough, rocky guitar.  If it’s anything to go by, any follow-up material will be worth listening out for.

The set finished with a noisy Living in Smoke Dreams, but they returned to play Dave Long’s Underground Song and finished with a version of Into Paradise’s Gently Falls.  An excellent gig, great to hear musicians playing purely for the love of it.