London Grammar - Live Review - Electric Ballroom
rating: 4.5
London Grammar are ordinary people who make extraordinary music, but will the songs sound as beautiful live as they do on record? Arriving at the venue I feel like I'm going on a first date, there's a mixture of excitement and nerves. I'm going to see someone I really like, but what if they're not as amazing as I want them to be? I'm not the only one, wandering through the densely packed crowd (the queue for the bar is five people thick) the majority of whom are twentysomething middle class suburbanites - I stop people and ask them why they're here and what they're expecting. The answer? They love London Grammar, for their humility, their humanity, and crucially their songs. I ask what their favourite song is overwhelmingly it's 'Hey Now', with one person saying 'I hope they don't start with it, they'll peak too early'. But London Grammar do exactly that, 'Hey now' is the opener. Within three seconds, I knew everything's going to be OK, even better than my already sky-high expectations. It starts off deathly slow, just Hannah Reid's voice, but then the guitar refrain arrives and it's mesmerising. Is it a risk to open with perhaps your most beloved song? Of course it is. Does it mean London Grammar peak too soon? Absolutely not, they've set the bar very high and if anything, continue to raise it during the set, showing how confident they've become.
Photo credit: Rob Ball
They quickly move onto 'Darling, are you gonna to leave me?', with Dot Major swapping his keyboards for some sprightly bongos (he'll later jump behind the drum kit), Dan Rothman knocking out lovely, minimalistic guitar lines - always adding just the right amount of notes to let the songs breathe and leave room for their lead instrument, the marvel that is Hannah Reid's voice, which soars all evening. I read through my notes this morning to see 'what an amazing voice' written down about twelve times. They may be very young, but they are so in tune with each other musically it's as if they've been rehearsing since they were at nursery, not university. The track suited bottoms and jumper look has been replaced by something more glamorous, sophisticated, with an almost Dusty Springfield like beehive look for the singer. Towards the middle of the set they unleash (and yes, unleash is the correct word) 'Wasting My Young Youth'. I look to see if the bar is still rammed, but there's no one queuing for beer now, everyone is rapt at the wonder that is taking place on front of their eyes. I would need far more space to cover all the highlights, but standouts include the cover of 'Nightcall' which was stark, chilling and beautiful. 'Strong' prompts a mass sing and dance along, which stumps Reid somewhat, "That's the first time I've ever seen people dance to that song, I didn't think that you'd be able to do that." They finish with a rousing 'Metal and Dust', and the vocal gymnastics at the end aren't in fact a studio effect after all, she carries them off note for note. Surely, as they're so polite, they'll play an encore? But what's left to play? Ah... their take on 'Wicked Game' by Chris Isaac. They blow the original out of the water, which is no mean feat, making the original sound narcissistic, whereas their humility shines through. There's no anger in London Grammar, they are the sound of sadness, disappointment and hope. Like 'Nightcall' it is executed so beautifully and idiosyncratically you wouldn't know that they hadn't written it themselves. The coda is breath-taking and then they're off.
Photo credit: Rob Ball
Their recent tour of the US, which they refer to throughout - mainly talking about how weird the audiences were - has given their performance some real chops. They're not such shy wallflowers anymore, but a band playing with extreme confidence, even if they are still getting used to large crowds. As Reid says at one point, "I'm not freaking out as much as I was, and I do want to talk to the audience, I just don't want to see them." They are in their own private cocoon, almost playing for themselves. London Grammar are booked to play here again next month, do everything you can to get your hands on a ticket, it's the last time you'll see them at such an intimate venue. They'll keep getting better - I can't wait until album number 2 - and I'll bet they'll steal the show at next year's festivals. If the promoters have any sense they'll book them as headliners, because if they're this good now, imagine what they'll be like in nine months' time? I certainly wouldn't want to go on after them. So all in all, a great first date and I can't wait for the next one. **Live photos of London Grammar from Bestival 2013