Grouplove @ The Boston Arms / The Slaughtered Lamb, London (22-23/11/2013)
Throw back to Summer 2011/12. While Gotye was busy dominating the world, Australia was in the midst of an American east coast lovefest. Foster The People, Best Coast and Grouplove were all on everybody's lips (and radios). The latter's 'Itching On A Photograph' and 'Tongue Tied' were on high media rotation and their highly addictive debut record Never Trust A Happy Song surely had holes being burnt into copies across the country from over playing. To say that summer was Grouplove's summer is an understatement.
Fast forward to now, after a couple of years off the musical world's radar, everyone's favourite Californian five-piece are back. And boy are they back with a bang.
Spreading Rumours is a solid follow-up effort to an album that had so much love, it was almost impossible to exceed it. Well, you better believe they have. Whilst the album isn't out here in the UK until next February (sad panda); a handful of fans were treated to some special, one off performances over the weekend; with the group brining their 'Seesaw Tour' across the North Atlantic.
Night one (on the "heavy" end of the seesaw) had them hit up The Boston Arms, a rather inconspicuous venue in North London. When I said a handful of fans, I really meant it. With a capacity of just 600, the evening was reserved for the lucky die-hard fans who have been waiting for the group to hit up our shores for almost 2 years. No time was wasted getting into the swing of things, opening with the first track off Spreading Rumours, 'I'm With You'. Despite Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi's trademark thrashing about on stage, it took the audience until the more familiar 'Itching On A Photograph' and 'Lovely Cup' to liven up themselves, a far cry from the last time I saw the band in Adelaide where I was literally thrown about the mosh for a solid 75 minutes.
The set was slightly touch and go on the audience's part the whole evening, the unfamiliarity of new songs 'Shark Attack', 'Hippy Hill', and 'Raspberry' meant the audience were tentative to engage in the frivolities. The appreciation was thankfully present for previous hits 'Naked Kids', 'Tongue Tied' and 'Spun', which featured some solid ukelele work and vocals from guitarist Andrew Wesson.
'Slow' was a highlight back in their Adelaide set, Ryan Rabbin's long johns, the fluorescent glowing drumsticks and Hooper's effervescent vocals made it the stand-out for me that evening and tonight was no exception, with the stellar fan-favourite track finishing off the main set. The encore was threefold, with 'Borderlines And Aliens', 'Ways To Go' and the song that broke them in the UK, 'Colours' signalling an end to the evening's proceedings.
How the band manages to get on stage almost every night and deliver bang-on, high-intensity performances night-in, night-out and still look like they're having the times of their lives up there is beyond me. It's just a shame the audience wasn't willing to match their energy levels.
Having thought last night's show was an intimate affair, I didn't even know what hit me when I entered the basement to The Slaughtered Lamb, a rather (surprisingly) charming pub tucked away in North London's side-streets. I almost had to double-check I was at the right venue for the acoustic half. No stage, no lighting rig, just a drum kit and mic stands set up in the corner near the bar and from a rough guess, about 100 people could squeeze in here. It was going to be a special night. And cosy. Oh so cosy.
While there wasn't a huge difference in terms of the set list. Out went 'Naked Kids', 'Spun', and 'Slow'; in came oldie-but-goodie 'Don't Say Oh Well', 'Gold Coast' and a cover of Daniel Johnston's 'True Love Will Find You In The End'. For a "stripped-back", acoustic set, there was still a heck of a lot of energy exerted by the band, Zucconi just had to be careful, instead of possibly knocking over a few mic stands and drum pieces, he ran the risk of knocking out multiple audience members with his flailing limbs/stray guitar neck.
The sound throughout the set was a bit touch and go but hey, it was in the basement of a freaking pub and at the end of the day it wasn’t about the slick production. Coming in to the gig, I was in the mindset that it was the acoustic aspect of the performance that would make it a special show. However, as the set progressed it was the simplistic nature of the show, the relaxed vibes, banter between the band and the audience and the anecdotes between friends on stage that really made the evening memorable. For just over an hour they stopped being the internationally recognised, acclaimed indie band, and were just five friends jamming on stage, goofing about and practicing their best death metal vocals. Hooper summed it up perfectly herself when she said you could sell out stadium tours across the world but it was the intimate shows like this that made the real memories.
Grouplove are set to play a handful of shows back in the US before they hit Australian shores for the Big Day Out. And hey, with Blur pulling out, that's one less clash you have to worry about. No excuses, Australia.
Keisha Hanbury
Fast forward to now, after a couple of years off the musical world's radar, everyone's favourite Californian five-piece are back. And boy are they back with a bang.
Spreading Rumours is a solid follow-up effort to an album that had so much love, it was almost impossible to exceed it. Well, you better believe they have. Whilst the album isn't out here in the UK until next February (sad panda); a handful of fans were treated to some special, one off performances over the weekend; with the group brining their 'Seesaw Tour' across the North Atlantic.
Night one (on the "heavy" end of the seesaw) had them hit up The Boston Arms, a rather inconspicuous venue in North London. When I said a handful of fans, I really meant it. With a capacity of just 600, the evening was reserved for the lucky die-hard fans who have been waiting for the group to hit up our shores for almost 2 years. No time was wasted getting into the swing of things, opening with the first track off Spreading Rumours, 'I'm With You'. Despite Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi's trademark thrashing about on stage, it took the audience until the more familiar 'Itching On A Photograph' and 'Lovely Cup' to liven up themselves, a far cry from the last time I saw the band in Adelaide where I was literally thrown about the mosh for a solid 75 minutes.
The set was slightly touch and go on the audience's part the whole evening, the unfamiliarity of new songs 'Shark Attack', 'Hippy Hill', and 'Raspberry' meant the audience were tentative to engage in the frivolities. The appreciation was thankfully present for previous hits 'Naked Kids', 'Tongue Tied' and 'Spun', which featured some solid ukelele work and vocals from guitarist Andrew Wesson.
'Slow' was a highlight back in their Adelaide set, Ryan Rabbin's long johns, the fluorescent glowing drumsticks and Hooper's effervescent vocals made it the stand-out for me that evening and tonight was no exception, with the stellar fan-favourite track finishing off the main set. The encore was threefold, with 'Borderlines And Aliens', 'Ways To Go' and the song that broke them in the UK, 'Colours' signalling an end to the evening's proceedings.
How the band manages to get on stage almost every night and deliver bang-on, high-intensity performances night-in, night-out and still look like they're having the times of their lives up there is beyond me. It's just a shame the audience wasn't willing to match their energy levels.
Having thought last night's show was an intimate affair, I didn't even know what hit me when I entered the basement to The Slaughtered Lamb, a rather (surprisingly) charming pub tucked away in North London's side-streets. I almost had to double-check I was at the right venue for the acoustic half. No stage, no lighting rig, just a drum kit and mic stands set up in the corner near the bar and from a rough guess, about 100 people could squeeze in here. It was going to be a special night. And cosy. Oh so cosy.
While there wasn't a huge difference in terms of the set list. Out went 'Naked Kids', 'Spun', and 'Slow'; in came oldie-but-goodie 'Don't Say Oh Well', 'Gold Coast' and a cover of Daniel Johnston's 'True Love Will Find You In The End'. For a "stripped-back", acoustic set, there was still a heck of a lot of energy exerted by the band, Zucconi just had to be careful, instead of possibly knocking over a few mic stands and drum pieces, he ran the risk of knocking out multiple audience members with his flailing limbs/stray guitar neck.
The sound throughout the set was a bit touch and go but hey, it was in the basement of a freaking pub and at the end of the day it wasn’t about the slick production. Coming in to the gig, I was in the mindset that it was the acoustic aspect of the performance that would make it a special show. However, as the set progressed it was the simplistic nature of the show, the relaxed vibes, banter between the band and the audience and the anecdotes between friends on stage that really made the evening memorable. For just over an hour they stopped being the internationally recognised, acclaimed indie band, and were just five friends jamming on stage, goofing about and practicing their best death metal vocals. Hooper summed it up perfectly herself when she said you could sell out stadium tours across the world but it was the intimate shows like this that made the real memories.
Grouplove are set to play a handful of shows back in the US before they hit Australian shores for the Big Day Out. And hey, with Blur pulling out, that's one less clash you have to worry about. No excuses, Australia.
Keisha Hanbury