For one evening only, British alternative rock band, alt-J performed at the O2 Arena in London, filling the entire space both literally and with their musical presence. The performance was stellar, connecting with me on a level far more complex and metaphysical than just a pair of ears enjoying a band in a concert hall for 20,000 people. alt-J's music had me longing for hours afterwards to return to the sanctuary of their sound as each note was played and each word was sung with a haunting and yet comforting edge.
The show began with the first support act, Gengahr. Being the first supporting act of a successful and popular band is always difficult but Gengahr fell disastrously flat in the expanse of the arena. Their instrumentals were solid and yet the vocals were completely lost in ambiguity with the lyrics being discernible and the notes rarely hit. Perhaps they would have been more successful within a more intimate venue but their performance was poor and undoubtedly overshadowed by the second support: Wolf Alice. I listened up on a little bit of their music before arriving but was still pleasantly surprised by their performance. Their sound was thoroughly pleasing, comparable to The xx meets Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Overall, it was a successful opening for one of the most enchanting evenings I have ever experienced.
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| From left to right: Joe Newman (Guitar/Vocals), Gwil Sainsbury (Guitar/Bass), Gus Unger-Hamilton (Keyboard/Vocals), Thom Green (Drums). |
Then it was finally time for alt-J themselves. Launching with Hunger of the Pine, they stood confidently in alignment with unpretentious and effortless importance. Taking a minute to find their feet, the song eventually developed into the beautiful and simultaneously fragile song that I loved from the record. Moving onto a good balance of songs from their old album An Awesome Wave and the newer This Is All Yours, alt-J mesmerised me completely and entirely. Their live performance was nearly faultless and when idiosyncrasies did occur, I felt it simply added to the emotion, heart and wavering translucency of their sound.
My expectations of such a large arena performance were surpassed when every song felt molten in my veins, transforming sound into something tangible that practically rippled through my body. I didn't realise the sheer level of emotive charge behind their music until this night where their lyrically obscure songs succeeded in communicating with me without having to say anything through concrete words but rather through making me experience an optimised moment of being.
None of the acoustics were lost in the large venue either. Having been seated at one of the furthest points away from the stage, I felt no deprivation from the experience of the concert. In fact, by being more removed, I felt like I could appreciate the entire artistic performance better by being able to absorb every movement, light flicker and spotlight wash all at once, revelling in the entire chaotic image.
As for the appearance of the show, it was brilliantly captivating, plunging the audience into a hallucinatory flurry of colour, pattern and glow. The lighting was orchestrated on an almost cinematic or theatrical level where each song was befittingly played alongside alt-J's quintessentially geometric imagery through the psychedelic lighting and screen displays. According to song, some had more of a mellow undercurrent whilst others were maddeningly erratic, throwing my eyes and my mind into the best kind of blindness. Despite this, alt-J still managed to retain an element of classic simplicity to their performance as they were predominantly stationary during their entire set, simply allowing the music to entertain rather than distracting roaming. My favourite element were these striped screens that sliced the band members into grayscale fragments, lending to a fantastically broken rather than clean cut portrayal of the band.
"The fear has gripped me but here I go." (Breezeblocks)
My personal highlights of their set list would have to be the iconic Fitzpleasure; the quieter and yet equally moving Matilda; the dark and powerful rendition of The Gospel of John Hurt; Leaving Nara; and the absolutely electric energy of Breezeblocks, their closing track.
The evening was completely magical and memorable, filled with all the intricacies and excellence I could ever wish for. alt-J is yet to disappoint.
(Concert photos taken by me, band photo found on thevibeguide.net)
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