05 November 2022 (gig)
06 November 2022
The last time Cavetown - aka Robin Skinner with his three-piece band - was in London was December 2021 at the majestic Roundhouse. A gig that brought a breath of fresh air as we were all re-embracing our love for live music after a long dark pandemic. With the release of his 5th album, Wormfood, Friday just gone, Cavetown has stepped up to perform in some bigger venues on this new tour. Such is the steadily growing interest in this talented indie/bedroom pop singer songwriter.
As is the modern world, much of his fame and fortune has come from his 2 million plus YouTube subscribers and the astronomically large amount of video views. He’s been uploading self-penned songs since around 14 years old, and looking around the packed stalls of the Apollo, there are many fans here who I guess have followed his journey: twenty somethings who have grown up with Cavetown’s honest take on coming of age and the myriad of challenges that brings. There were also many school age kids with their parents… me being one of them!
With some challenges on the Underground, we only made it just in time to catch the end of Orla Gartland’s performance, with Zombie! ending her setlist with its upbeat chorus that gets stuck in the head she certainly did the job of setting up what was to follow. By the time Cavetown took the stage, many were bursting with excitement.
He swaggered on wearing black dungerees strumming the opening chords to his recent release Falling in Love with a Girl on an equally black guitar - a happy ray of poppy sunshine that relieved the excited tension in the crowd. Soon into the second verse and Orla stepped out once more to provide duet before waving a final goodbye and the very familiar Lemon Boy providing one of the first of many sing-alongs and stoking the enthusiasm of a delighted crowd: a thousand phones raised to the sky to catch the moment.
Cavetown reminded everyone to look out for each other, and periodically asked for a show of thumbs to confirm that everyone was OK. There is a strong LGBTIQ connection to Cavetown’s music, and during the setlist a rainbow pride flag and Trans Pride flag made their way on to the stage much to the delight of many in the audience.
The setlist weaved in new songs from Wormfood, and plenty of fan favourites. Songs from the new album had a slightly different vibe to what has gone before, and there were plenty of gentler numbers. Yet, the highlights were still Boys will be Bugs, This is Home and the more rockier Devil Town that provided the encore, all of which still made for the biggest and most impassioned response from his devoted fans.
Overall, it was happy gig, from a nice person loved by his audience, who writes honest, vulnerable pop songs that are easy to sing along to. What was not to like?
