It was clear Grimes would prove to be an electrifying experience from the moment Genesis began, accompanied by amazing choreography, with a crowd of two thousand united in joy, synchronised to the beat, singing along with total commitment. The evening had started auspiciously, the confident opener HANA feeling more like an integral part of the show than a warm up act. She'd already showcased her dancing abilities in that solo set before joining performers Linda and Alison on stage to create an incredible energy. Claire Boucher, a friend of HANA's, was visually mesmerising too, constantly moving around stage, so committed that at the end of Realiti she screamed into the microphone. This was followed by another song from her recent album Art Angels, Flesh Without Blood, where taking up the electric guitar did not stop Grimes continuing to move.
Art Angels moved from electronic experimentation towards a pop direction, but live, the musical language was further simplified to the service of the beat. The bass was thundering, in contrast to the baroque music that we'd been listening to for 90 minutes until this point. The choice was thoughtful: not only did the discontinuity in energy heighten the explosive effect of Grimes' contemporary beats, but Handel, Bach, and Corelli signposted the evening's theme, since their music is also rooted in dance. Like Zola Jesus, whose set at Latitude last year shared a similar intensity, Grimes has absorbed Western classical musical culture, and indeed studied ballet for 11 years. Her genius is to take the genre of K-Pop and transform it into a work of art, aurally and aesthetically. A polymath, Claire apologised for being unable to replicate guest singer Aristophanes' Mandarin on the record, only to perform Scream in Russian instead.
Creativity on this level is made possible through the meeting and cross fertilisation of cultures, an insight that American political debate surely needs to absorb at a time when some advocate the construction of walls. When Grimes signalled that the bass was about to start in earnest before Venus Fly, all boundaries between the eclectic but ecstatic audience disappeared: if only life could imitate art. Whilst making music, Claire was flamboyantly, joyously in character, but talking, she seemed almost embarrassed by the crowd's response, and before the final song, the explosive Kill V. Maim, she had to explain that she didn't do encores. In an all too short 70 minute set of such concentrated inspiration, picking out highlights feels superfluous. However, a reworked dance version of Be A Body from Visions, described as a 'deep cut', exemplifies her re-invention of studio material for a live setting. The stage set itself was minimalist, reflecting Claire's passionate belief in sustainability; this only served to focus attention on the act.
Grimes' emergence on this tour as such a ferocious pop act is reminiscent of St.Vincent exploding onto the gig circuit in 2014. If there's any justice, Claire will achieve the critical and popular recognition that tour brought Annie Clark, having swapped a once slight presence for command of the entire venue. Songs like My Wait Is U and Oblivion takes you on a dream like journey. For sheer all-absorbing escapism, this set ranked alongside Arcade Fire's in Blackpool in winter 2013. That had a similarly electric atmosphere, and last night's celebratory, party atmosphere proved so helpful on what had turned out to be my first day of unemployment after losing a job of several years the day before. Her ethereal and otherworldly falsetto voice, combined with endlessly inventive production and composition add to the belief that few could have left Manchester University doubting Grimes' genius. One can only hope that the higher state of consciousness that makes such art possible can somehow have a progressive influence on the world outside.
Set List
- Laughing and Not Being Normal
- Genesis
- Realiti
- Flesh without Blood
- Scream (Russian lyrics)
- Venus Fly
- Butterfly
- Be A Body (new version)
- Go
- Symphonia IX (My Wait Is U)
- Oblivion
- World Princess Part II
- Kill v. Maim
HANA
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