31 January 2017 (gig)
01 February 2017
This week Alex Clare returned to the Camden stage in a performance at the Electric Ballroom; it was the third night of a twenty-date tour that will see him travel from Glasgow to Vienna and back again.
“It’s been two years since I was last on tour, can you believe it?“ said Clare of his forthcoming road trip “Myself and Chris 'Fatty' Hargreaves will be coming to a venue near you. Let’s make some noise and move like we mean it.”
A thousand-strong crowd packed the Ballroom to welcome Clare, Hargreaves and former Kooks drummer Chris Prendergast onto a stage formerly graced by the likes of U2 and Nick Cave. They’d queued down Camden High Street in the rain to get in; though their spirits were far from dampened – Alex Clare had come home.
The tour showcases Clare’s 2017 album ‘Tail of Lions’; “we’re only interested in making nasty sounding music to play live” was announced in his press release - “I want to make music that people dance to. I want to build up that energy so people can really let go and that’s my whole focus”
The set certainly built, the energy grew with material refreshingly new whilst remaining reassuringly familiar; the boys played like they were having a great time – the energy was fantastic, the atmosphere palpable; Clare has a beautiful voice and the wall of harmony kicked in by Hargreaves’ foot pedals was at times quite anthemic, almost euphoric.
The penultimate track on the set list was Clare’s biggest commercial success to date, his 2011 release ‘Too Close’, followed by ‘Open My Eyes’ from his latest album - an appropriate climax to his latest body of live work; though post-climax we were treated to an acoustic solo encore including ‘Goodnight Irene’ before, all too soon, it was goodnight, god bless, and haven’t we all got homes to go to?
