British Sea Power Rugby Library 4th March 2011 3/10

 Concert Review

Musical taste is intensely personal, and it would be fascinating to explore the reasons why the emotional connections are so different between people. Whereas Edward Sharpe was for me  a transcendental, spiritual experience, British Sea Power was visceral, physical and didn’t engage on a higher plane of consciousness.

The gig was innovatively performed in a public library, in Rugby in the English Midlands, as part of the commendable ‘Get it loud in Libraries’ scheme “designed to give people, especially young people who love music, a damn good time in a library” and “if during post gig smiley time, those cool informed kids come back into libraries for great tunes, scored music, novels, maps to find places, quiet down time, and ye olde world wide web time, then just great”. There was a very timely political slot before BSP came on about the savagery of cuts in services in the UK. I don't think there were many bankers or capitalists at this gig, so the observations were well received.

This specific library venue wasn’t ideal acoustically though: I found the sound was indistinct, muddy and painfully loud, and others I talked to agreed. This coloured my view of the support band, Life in Film from London, as I found them relentless, and downbeat, unfortuntely not in a cathartic Radiohead way. I moved to a superior location sonically for the main act, which was accounts for my distant shots of BSP through the crowd.

British Sea Power initially performed their recent Valhalla Dancehall album, and immediately the energy level in the room went up: this is powerful stuff, dense- textured; although sheer beauty seemed to be kept under the surface much of the time in favour of something more bombastic and raucous (the recorded album sounds more subtle and ethereal). The audience was predominantly male, but with a broad age spread and even a few families with children, and the venue was pretty intimate. Despite this, during first hour of so of BSP’s set, the room didn’t really come alive emotionally: yes, people were having a good time, but with the exception of some diehard fans dancing in front of the stage, they weren’t being transported to a different sphere. This wasn't helped by the dreary interludes towards the end of Valhalla Dancehall, an ill-conceived attempt at experimentation (overall I feel ‘Do you Like Rock Music?’ is a stronger album), even if there is something discinctively British about their melancholic streak.

Gradually though, the band started to relax and start listening and relating to each other: once they were well into the second hour of this epic set people in the audience started to move their bodies, and I forgot it was now late and I had a hundred miles to drive back home. Towards the end, some of the magic which had so consumed my spirit during Edward Sharpe’s show returned and reminded me of the amazing power of live music.

BSP is well known for flamboyance: one member wore a 10 foot high bear suit on their last tour, and stage dives (recently resulting in injury) are a regular occurrence, so I was a little disappointed not to see much extrovert behaviour in Rugby. They are a six piece band with a big sound, and lots of force, with an imaginative variety of instrumentation including an electric viola and keyboards brilliantly played by Abi Fry. Guitars were the dominant, unifying force throughout. The DJ at the start played Arcade Fire, and their influence can be felt at times in the epic intentions, but I don't detect their (exceptional) creative genius.

This blog’s relays my personal feelings during new musical experiences, so I don’t feel any obligation to give an objective view. I’m really glad I went to see BSP, but I’d love them to develop their song writing further, become more sensitive, and rely less upon force and bombast. There's room for all sorts though, and if they’re in your area, go along and you’ll have lots of fun watching them.  Just don’t go with expectations of having a damascene vision. Seek out Edward Sharpe if you want your outlook on life to be changed.


3/10