First impressions of the Bush Hall are not generally encouraging for the live music fan. The main hall is ornate, walls lined with large mirrors, chandeliers from the ceiling, and a general air of wedding reception and vicar’s church roof fundraising about it. However, it’s deceptive, has hosted a variety of bands and artists and tonight Alessi’s Ark were enchanting.
Georgia Seddon was on first and played a short set of single word compositions such as Bird, Revive, Snow, and Return. Ms Seddon has a nice voice but the songs were generally undistinguished and had a wet Sunday afternoon feel about it.
She was much better as a member of Alessi’s Ark who took to the stage and opened with the Countryish The Dog., which was followed by On The Plains which tonight sounds like the sort of Americana that Robert Plant has been playing with recently. And that’s because the band is stripped down to bare basics tonight. Shorn of the album’s bells and whistles, some of the songs could have been left exposed. However, these songs are robust: The Asteroids Collide and Run which closed the main set frankly rocked, and new song Time Travel had a swagger that’s not present in the album version.
The venerable Robyn Hitchcock joined them for a couple of songs, and came perilously close to steeling the show. He didn’t: at the end of the day this is Alessi Laurent-Marke’s show. She is a charming performer, quickly building a rapport with the audience with her good natured banter. She also has a fine voice which came to the fore during her acoustic solo performances of Witch and The Bird Song.
This was a solid performance to - it has to be said - a small, friendly, sedentary audience. But who cares everyone present enjoyed it and went home feeling pretty good.
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