On Saturday I had
the pleasure of spending my evening along with an arena full of people who have
the same interest as me – Alt-J. I didn’t know what to expect from them,
firstly because this isn’t the usual type of band I see live, and secondly I have
never been to a concert with about 19,999 people with me (I’m much more of a
fan of intimate gigs). I must admit, being the unorganised person I am (proof
of this is that I haven’t written anything for a good month - sorry), the
backlash of buying tickets only a month before the gig was that my view was
rather restricted. I was worried that being so far away from the band, it would
lack the atmosphere of a gig that I usually go to.
What I usually experience
from a gig is queueing up for what seems like years to get as close to the
front as I can. Then when I am in, I stand –uncomfortably close- next to the
people I spent the last six hours with waiting for the band I feel that seeing
them is a necessity. The atmosphere of is great, the electricity, the excitement,
the buzz – I love it, but I feared that’s what Alt-J would lack, but I was
wrong…
THE SUPPORT
The evening
started with a band that I see some shared qualities with Alt-J. Gengahr opened
the show and they were faultless. With a band with a less-than-they-deserve
following playing in an arena with a capacity of 20,000, it’s the best opportunity
for them to show their talent. They did their job flawlessly, I hope to see
them again soon. Listening to them is a must, and seeing them live is a
necessity – it’s worth it. This band exceeded the expectations I had of them,
and I can proudly name myself a devout fan, as I have listened to them non-stop
since – and I hope to see them live again soon (this time front row maybe??).
After Gengahr’s
performance, they done a very good job of getting me pumped for Alt-J, but
first came Wolf Alice. Admittedly, when I bought the Alt-J tickets, I knew more
about Wolf Alice than I did about Alt-J (however, a month of playing both of
their albums endlessly, it quickly changed). The thing I loved best about them
is that they sounded even better than they do on record. The guitars sounded
that bit heavier, adding more excitement. The vocals were perfect, sweet at
some points, for example the heart melting song Blush, or loud and, what I can
only really describe as, careless (but in a good way) in other songs. I was extremely
excited to see them live as they get really good reviews – here is another one
to add to their collection. They closed their set with my favourite song of
theirs, Fluffy, and straight after I went on my phone and bought tickets to see
them at Cambridge Junction in April, my excitement is indescribable.
ALT-J
They came on with
Hunger of the Pine, and it was amazing. My fear of the lacking atmosphere
vanished in seconds as I and the people who surrounded me stood up and danced
throughout. After that came Fitzpleasure, which is my favourite song of theirs,
and they aced it. They were hypnotic (so hypnotic I totally forgot to record
anything to share with you) I spent what felt like only five minutes singing my
heart out to all of Alt-J’s finest: Matilda, Leon, Left Hand Free. Before I knew
it they were thanking us for their biggest performance and went into their
closing song – Breezeblocks (which is the best performance I have ever seen
live, EVER).
Along with them
aceing every song, the light show was amazing, the set list was faultless and I have
come to the conclusion that despite my lack of a good view of the band, it has
been the best concert I have been to, and I am 110% sure I will be seeing them
again and so should you!
They performed:
- Hunger Of The Pine
- Fitzpleasure
- Something Good
- Left Hand Free
- Dissolve Me
- Matilda
- Bloodflood
- Bloodflood Pt. II
- Leon
- Interlude I
- Tessellate
- Every Other Freckle
- Taro
- Warm Foothills
- The Gospel Of John Hurt
- Lovely Day
- Nara
- Leaving Nara
- Breezeblocks
Overall, the concert was 9/10.
