Handily, I went to a gig yesterday! I am going to lots of gigs at the moment. This is partly due to work circumstances allowing, but also thanks to last.fm taking all the pain out of finding them. It notes who I listen to and informs me when someone I like is going to play in London - so useful. Yesterday it was Fever Ray (whose album I wrote about when it came out).
The support act was a guy who bowed, stood in the dark and played one long and quite boring ambient track, bowed again and left. Normally this would have been quite annoying but I was on my own and feeling antisocial, so an excuse to browse the net more without offending anyone was ok. He was Simon Scott apparently, according to last.fm again.
Fever Ray's set was heavy on literal smoke and mirrors. Plus lasers. Those were the only source of light for most of the set bar a few weak lampshaded lights, and it took several songs to work out which of the mysterious figures on stage was actually Karin Dreijer Andersson. Quite disorientating, especially as they started with an "If I Had a Heart" where she was buried deep in the darkness aurally as well, pitch-shifted even further into the depths than on the album.
Once she let both masks slip, from a plaintive "Seven" on, she was almost too pitch-perfect, the treasonous thought of 'why don't I just listen to the album?' raising its head on occasion. The live percussion saved the day on that front though, forcing the beats into the forefront in a way that they rarely are on record and lending a new urgency and immediacy to the distant. When they synced with the lasers to totally occupy the room, the idea that this was a better way of doing things than watching someone singing made total sense.
6 comments:
Hey, good on you!
I have to admit reading that list stings a little though - a ton of people from the Jukebox/Stylus, a ton of friends of mine, but I guess I'm too old (27?) or too undistinguished or I just don't know the right people. Sigh. Still, not a big deal either way - and I seem to recall Tom (who is an incredible writer himself) saying some nice things about my Low blog nice, so my pride isn't TOO wounded.
I think it's the long-established effect that happened with a couple of other people - you've actually been writing for an audience of >10people for years so it's easy to assume that you're well outside the age limit.
Fair enough. I like that explanation, it's relatively flattering.
So I apparently will be seeing Fever Ray when they come to Canada... I'm quite excited.
Managed to catch Fever Ray at Pop Montreal last Thursday, and whatever kinks they had at Shepherd's Bush were ironed out. I'm not sure if they augmented the venues soundsystem with their own, but it certainly felt like it. The drums and bass were physically manifested throughout your body, the floor, etc. While they occasionally overpowered her vocals, for the most part Karin managed to stay above the musical fray. The lights/smoke/agricultural fertility rites were an added bonus.
I can second that - saw them in Toronto last Friday, incredible show. I don't think her vocals were ever overpowered, so maybe they're just getting better at it.
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