Monday 14 October 2013

CHVRCHES - Live Review, Glasgow O2ABC 10 October

The first of CHVRCHES two sold out shows at the O2 ABC last Thursday night (10 October) was a show that, as a consequence of my excitement about the album, I had been looking forward to for some time and I am pleased to say it didn't disappoint. There was a real sense of anticipation in the venue and when the band kicked off with We Sink the whole place started jumping around as one. You could tell that the band could feel it too: Iain and Martin were immediately bouncing around behind the synths and frankly fantastic album art-like stands they were in and Lauren was immediately prowling between the two owning the stage. She was definitely nervous for the first couple of songs ( no wonder given the size of the show) but that soon passed.

The first five songs blasted by in a synthpop haze. We Sink was followed by Lungs, Gun, the sensational Now Is Not The Time whose absence from the album remains a mystery and Lies which sounded huge. Night Sky was up next sounding far stronger than it does on The Bones Of What You Believe. That strength was a common theme of the evening really. Some people have wrongly dismissed the band as too poppy or lightweight, a claim which looks daft when you see them live. They were as loud as any band I've seen recently and all the better for it.


Album bonus track Strong Hand followed leading us to a fantastic three song segment - a massive Science/Visions, Recover sung by everyone in the room and a stunning version of Tether. When the song reaches that part when the synths explode into life you can't help but jump around. Incredible. The main set closed with Under The Tide and The Mother We Share and we caught our breath. After a quick break the band were back on for the Glasgow meets R 'n' B take on Whitney's It's Not Right But It's Ok (which I seemed to know every word of - everyone seemed to come to think of it) and the closing By The Throat.

And that was that. It seemed that they were finished almost as soon as they began. The gig flew by at such a pace and that was because it was so good. I know I'm guilty of hyperbole when it comes to CHVRCHES but this really was a special show. Bring on the Barras gig next March.

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