01 October 2010 (gig)
07 October 2010
You know a gig scheduled at the union chapel is bound to be a good one - atmospheric before the show has even begun, the high ceilings and magnificent organs already creating mesmerising and eerie vibes. Not to mention the cold, as we clutch onto a warm cup of tea on hardened church pews. Yes, no alcohol is served but tea, coffee, hot chocolate and peanuts are the refreshments on offer.
Cue shy duo, Agnes Obel and her cellist, to enter the stage. Agnes speaks few words but a quiet “hello” to introduce her set but it is soon apparent that words aren't necessary when you have an angelic voice which warms up the entirety of the chapel, right to the ceiling.
Her songs lead me to imagine images of dancing dolls with painted faces, miming a dramatic event, and though faceless, capturing every emotion through sound.
Her combination of upbeat and sombre songs and luscious harmonies provided by, a sometimes, plucking-stringed cellist, compliment each beautifully. A highlight was her new single ‘Riverside’ with its echoic beauty and escapist keyboard tones leading us to the very waterside she is telling us about, almost intruding on her intimate location.
Mancunian, edgy I am Kloot needed no introduction to the packed audience, who appear slightly older than a usual gig crowd but are just as lively, hungry and fortunately, easily pleased. Pint-sized front man, John Bramwell welcomes us all like his old friends, livening up the serious vibes with a comic introduction: “what a dump eh? Good evening. We're f***ing excited to be here, there will be no swearing or drinking, but this song here is about drinking…” He toasts his plastic cup to us… “I’ve got a bit of a cold, this here is a lemsip with vermouth. I'm just taunting you as I know you're not allowed to.”
The set, filled with old favourites combined with new songs off their 5th album ‘The Sky At Night’ revisits common themes of madness, drinking, disaster, insomnia and tortured souls. But not all is madness and sadness, a little bird up high in a tree is also featured, though solemnly. Whatever the subject, all are delivered with the passion of something real, and from somebody you could imagine having a conversation with in a local pub.
Who said romance was dead in rock? Bramwell is perhaps a joker on stage, but the sincerity of his lyrics, penned and sung, give his music a poetical, inclusive feel. We are there too, when the bar is closing, not ready to give in to the darkness of night, to whatever gods and monsters may lurk in the shadows (see what I did there...).
Though a three piece, I am Kloot expand to 6 on stage, with a violin, viola and extra guitarist in hand to add a classical-country-grunge vibe to their tuneful set. And whether Bramwell is telling us about an evening trapped full of televisions, or soberly delivers a series of solo tunes, abandoned by his musical comrades, all are performed with an integrity hard to find in modern day rock bands.
