Report – Union Chapel

It's December 15th and we make our way to a frosty London on the train. By the time we get there it's dark and wet and within minutes someone has slipped down the steps to the tube. Still, somehow London in the wintertime is a bit special. A wander past the Christmas lights of Oxford and Carnaby Street leads us to our first stop; tasty dinner with very lovely fellow fans Laura and Sean, and then a hurry off to Union Chapel.

Unsurprisingly late, we find Porcelain Raft half way through his set and the middle column of pews totally full, so after a visit to the merchandise stall to pick up programmes we claim a row down on the right next to an enormous glowing Christmas tree. The Chapel itself is cosy and rimmed by candles, warmly lit and thrumming with excitement up to the balconies. Having dressed for a cold stone room we soon find ourselves gently roasting under heat lamps as people continued to file in and fill up the reserved seats behind us. Unintrusive cameras hover near the stage to remind us what we're watching is going to be watched by other hitherto unknown beings around the world.

Porcelain Raft is shortly followed by the much-hyped James Blake with what I understand is his second ever live show after the RNCM. Being totally unfamiliar with his work, his slow, eerie beats and delicate vocals feel appropriate and unexpectedly experimental and sparse. An impressive performance if a little unsure and unstructured (never having heard him before I couldn't tell how much of that was on purpose).

Having quickly given up on the packed bar and loaded up with water bottles, we sit and wait for the main act and study our programmes – 26-page fully glossy lovelies filled with rehearsal photos and info about the show and support acts, with an enormous double-sided A1 poster inside (album art/lyrics sheet – pics to follow). Laura and I wonder if the album will be played in order while Gareth watches Beyblade on the iPad of a boy in front of us. The audience is the usual EE mix of eight to ninety eight year olds. Special mention goes to the row of senior gentlemen near the front who were downright headbanging whenever we looked over.

Soon enough the orchestra make their appearance along with Everything Everything themselves, beaming and looking well snappy in suits, audience cheering. The excitement is palpable. The first notes of Schoolin' answer our question – what follows is a shuffled setlist that adds an enjoyable air of unpredictability. Ingrained and familiar songs seem to transfer effortlessly to the ensemble where they're stirred up into a new mixture of brassy noise and strings, elements jostling to be heard and sometimes so raucously loud the music is almost lost underneath. The best and most memorable moments come when the orchestra takes precedent and the balance is struck – Suffragette Suffragette stripped down to its harmonious bones, Final Form at its sweeping string-led best, immediately followed by the ridiculously enjoyable Photoshop Handsome bolstered by some entirely appropriate brass and an additional chorus of yelps from the string section. Quieter tracks are given appropriate levity by the environment; Jonathan retreats to a piano at one point for an affecting rendition of NASA Is on Your Side.

Simple, bold colours atmospherically light the stage throughout, throwing contrast over the intricate stone arches and beauty of the setting. Unfettered by keyboards the band give a fantastic performance and the audience receive it with thunderous applause and eventually, following the booming finality of Weights, a standing ovation, wrapping up the show with a feeling like it's All Come Together. Special. Should a DVD of the show emerge no doubt I'll be first in line along with everyone else in the audience.
 

Setlist
Schoolin'
QWERTY Finger
Come Alive Diana
Leave the Engine Room
Suffragette Suffragette
Two for Nero
MY KZ, UR BF
Final Form
Photoshop Handsome
NASA Is on Your Side
Tin (the Manhole)
Weights

Other reviews
Glasswerk
The Times
NME
Gigs and Stuff

RNCM reviews
Manchester Music

Photos
acejace on flickr

Comments (2 replies)

• 1

  Sara

  I can see that you got really bored in that show. Lucky you!!

  20 January 2011 at 23:01 • Reply
  • Frankie

    Really bored?! I didn’t sound that bored did I? Haha.

    21 January 2011 at 01:00 • Reply