Chvrches
Alexandra Palace,
London - 27 November 2015
"In
the top 20 performances I have ever seen"
The
27th November 2015 finds me near the front of the stage at the 10,000
capacity Alexandra Palace with my 13 year old daughter Freya, certainly
the biggest venue she has been to and to see a group that both father
and daughter really enjoy. The last time I went to see Chvrches was at
the Dome in Tufnell Park at the launch for their new album Every Open Eye
which was somewhat bizarre as the album was not available, even at the
gig, as it was released two days later.
Photos
[L-R]: Lauren Mayberry
The
gig at
the Alexandra Palace was the final one of this tour, why is all this
relevant? Well I have to say that whilst I massively enjoyed both gigs, I
have had real trouble getting into their new album. Nevertheless,
tonight the band gave a supreme performance, with lead vocalist Lauren Mayberry moving all
over the stage, playing drums and making jokes and telling stories in
between songs. Iain Cook playing keyboards and guitar/bass, and Martin Doherty
playing keys/triggering samples and, one of the highlights, singing and
dancing like a fool for Under
the Tide which somehow is always a high spot for me.
Photos [L-R]: Lauren Mayberry & Martin Doherty, Lauren, Iain Cook
Anyway,
in a set consisting of tracks from both their debut studio album The Bones of What You Believe
as well as their latest, the entire show was full of energy driven by great
sounds, and the songs from the second album all seemed to work so much
better live for me.
The set included Lies,
We Sink, The Mother We Share
and Recover
from the first album, and Leave
A Trace, Afterglow
and Empty Threat
among others from the second album. It was a truly awesome gig in a
great venue and, in the words of my daughter, “That was the best gig I have
ever been to, sorry Little Boots”.
I have to agree it was a gig in the top 20 performances I have ever
seen and the mix of Iain and Martin's electronics and Lauren's
performance just work brilliantly. 8/10
Review + Photos: Mark Smith