Tuesday
Jun212011
It's All in the Atmosphere
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 6:36PM
When you go and see your favourite band live, you don't really just want to hear them play their music. If you did, you could save yourself a small fortune and stay at home, curled up in the armchair listening to the CD. When you watch a performer on stage, you want to feel the energy and the passion, share the feelings the music conjures up, and rejoice with all those fellow devotees around you.
You want to jump up and down, and dance around like a madman to the sound of your favourite song as the band entertains you with their performance. All the best bands I have seen live, have been the best and most memorable because of the band's performance on stage. Rocking out. Be it in a stadium like Wembley as Coldplay frontman Chris Martin prances around the stage, or in a tiny Manchester club as the 27 members of I'm From Barcelona jump into the crowd, or jumping up and down to the sound of Mr. Brightside with Brandon Flowers in Milwaukee, the best bands energise the crowd and pump up an incredible atmosphere. If only I could have seen Queen live, and rocked out to Radio GaGa.
Listening to the mellowed blues of Fleet Foxes new album, I thought about the two most recent gigs I went to. Neither of them had dancing around or loud rock music blasting into the audience. In fact, at both venues (Madison's Memorial Union Rathskeller and Hyde's Cheshire Ring), the vast majority of the crowd was sat down. On both occasions, the music was singer-songwriter, heartfelt ballads, at times very folksy. Yet on both occasions, the atmosphere was phenomenal, as the crowd listening eagerly in silence, taking in the beauty of the music.
Only once before, when I saw Damien Rice perform at the Manchester Apollo, was the crowd so silent, the atmosphere cuttable with a knife.
In Madison, I saw The Civil Wars, a very talented duet composing a girl and a guy who met at song writing camp, if I am not mistaken. I first heard them because of a couple of free downloads, and thought I would check them out. I was blown away. They were incredible live- despite the slow, subtleness of their songs-, and they were extremely engaging, had stunning voices, and had some funny stories to tell the crowd. They did a great cover of Billie Jean, which almost matches their unique interpretation of The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" on their album. They'll be in Manchester Sept 26th. This is one of their singles;
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfzRlcnq_c0]
This one shows how natural they perform live, and how great they sound, without any dubbing;
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYQwVZIr6iE]
The second gig I went to was this past Friday, and it was rather unusual. Not exactly what I was expecting anyway! I've been a fan of David Ford since I got his first solo album in 2006, and have now seen him three times; once in Manchester, once in Madison, Wisconsin, supporting Newton Faulkner and Ingrid Michaelson, and this last time in Hyde. Three albums, three gigs. David is a great singer songwriter who, as so many people have apparently told him, is perennially 'the next big thing'. I think not being a huge hit has made his music infinitely more likeable; personal, raw, beautiful. And it has certainly kept David as a down to earth guy who genuinely engages with his audience. I find him rather amusing too. This most recent gig was different because he has written a book, and so in between songs he read chapters from it. He too generated a great atmosphere in the small upstairs of room of pub in Hyde, seamlessly mixing intense emotional moments from his songs with laugh out loud stories from his life. His book promises to be an insightful take on the music business, and well worth the read. I particularly enjoyed his rendition of Young Hearts and Your Love Keeps Lifting Me!
I have always thought Mr. Ford was an incredible performer, and no song demonstrates that better than his first lead single, State of the Union, which is performed solo, in just one take, using a looping recorder of some sort. It is quite truly, momentous. Check it out;
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY8ni5kPp-E]
Finally, this is my favourite David Ford song. I could listen to it over and over again. I love the lyrics. And though it perhaps seems like a sad song, I think it's very uplifting. I can identify with it too. It always reminds me of a certain someone. Nicole, this one is for you.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ASspqGVLBE]
You want to jump up and down, and dance around like a madman to the sound of your favourite song as the band entertains you with their performance. All the best bands I have seen live, have been the best and most memorable because of the band's performance on stage. Rocking out. Be it in a stadium like Wembley as Coldplay frontman Chris Martin prances around the stage, or in a tiny Manchester club as the 27 members of I'm From Barcelona jump into the crowd, or jumping up and down to the sound of Mr. Brightside with Brandon Flowers in Milwaukee, the best bands energise the crowd and pump up an incredible atmosphere. If only I could have seen Queen live, and rocked out to Radio GaGa.
Listening to the mellowed blues of Fleet Foxes new album, I thought about the two most recent gigs I went to. Neither of them had dancing around or loud rock music blasting into the audience. In fact, at both venues (Madison's Memorial Union Rathskeller and Hyde's Cheshire Ring), the vast majority of the crowd was sat down. On both occasions, the music was singer-songwriter, heartfelt ballads, at times very folksy. Yet on both occasions, the atmosphere was phenomenal, as the crowd listening eagerly in silence, taking in the beauty of the music.
Only once before, when I saw Damien Rice perform at the Manchester Apollo, was the crowd so silent, the atmosphere cuttable with a knife.
In Madison, I saw The Civil Wars, a very talented duet composing a girl and a guy who met at song writing camp, if I am not mistaken. I first heard them because of a couple of free downloads, and thought I would check them out. I was blown away. They were incredible live- despite the slow, subtleness of their songs-, and they were extremely engaging, had stunning voices, and had some funny stories to tell the crowd. They did a great cover of Billie Jean, which almost matches their unique interpretation of The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" on their album. They'll be in Manchester Sept 26th. This is one of their singles;
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfzRlcnq_c0]
This one shows how natural they perform live, and how great they sound, without any dubbing;
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYQwVZIr6iE]
The second gig I went to was this past Friday, and it was rather unusual. Not exactly what I was expecting anyway! I've been a fan of David Ford since I got his first solo album in 2006, and have now seen him three times; once in Manchester, once in Madison, Wisconsin, supporting Newton Faulkner and Ingrid Michaelson, and this last time in Hyde. Three albums, three gigs. David is a great singer songwriter who, as so many people have apparently told him, is perennially 'the next big thing'. I think not being a huge hit has made his music infinitely more likeable; personal, raw, beautiful. And it has certainly kept David as a down to earth guy who genuinely engages with his audience. I find him rather amusing too. This most recent gig was different because he has written a book, and so in between songs he read chapters from it. He too generated a great atmosphere in the small upstairs of room of pub in Hyde, seamlessly mixing intense emotional moments from his songs with laugh out loud stories from his life. His book promises to be an insightful take on the music business, and well worth the read. I particularly enjoyed his rendition of Young Hearts and Your Love Keeps Lifting Me!
I have always thought Mr. Ford was an incredible performer, and no song demonstrates that better than his first lead single, State of the Union, which is performed solo, in just one take, using a looping recorder of some sort. It is quite truly, momentous. Check it out;
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY8ni5kPp-E]
Finally, this is my favourite David Ford song. I could listen to it over and over again. I love the lyrics. And though it perhaps seems like a sad song, I think it's very uplifting. I can identify with it too. It always reminds me of a certain someone. Nicole, this one is for you.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ASspqGVLBE]
Reader Comments (2)
Thanks for your support. Much appreciated. Dave Wibberley (David Ford's manager)
Absolutely! Just make sure he keeps touring! :)