Before this gig I liked Elbow quite a bit...not in a crazy way, but quite a bit. Their albums are beautiful and melodic - gorgeous to listen to when you are sinking into gloominess or just need to chill out.
Elbow Live, however, are seriously out of this world. Yes I'm probably one of those people who gets carried away in the music at gigs and (almost) always find something good to take away, but this was just a whole other level.
Guy Garvey and the boys came out in a flash of lights and noise and energy and launched directly into the rousing crowd pleaser Station Approach. It didn't take long for the whole crowd to be moving en masse and singing along to every word. The Prince is just big enough to fit in a vocal and receptive audience and yet small enough to retain that sense of closeness which is so special when seeing a band like Elbow. Garvey's voice is unspeakably beautiful - something that I don't think is fully captured on the albums. In the flesh he just infuses the room with his majestic croon. It's like a warm blanket that makes all the cold parts inside you melt. Honestly I can't say enough about this guy. He's funny, humble, affable, he connects with the audience, he is seemingly unaffected and his voice will take you to another universe. The band is tight without being slick, just perfectly together. Whether Garvey was up on stage singing with cigarette in hand or wandering around amongst the appreciative audience the whole thing still sounded incredible. It's hard to pick any stand outs in a gig such as this - there was a huge array of material from all three previous albums and the eagerly awaited fourth. Ribcage, Leaders of the Free World, Forget Myself, Buttons and Zips - they were all there, but seriously their rendition of Switching Off this night nearly had me on my knees......
The moment it was over I wanted it to start again and if they'd have played the next night I would have gladly paid to see them again - something I've never thought after coming out of a gig, no matter how great it has been.
honestly - they are that good.
If they are ever playing anywhere around you - don't miss the chance, even if you don't get into the albums so much, or think they are too morose and maudlin - their live performance is so energetic and engaging you won't regret it.
No comments:
Post a Comment