montpelier had just finished their encore when i overheard someone exclaim, "fuck man. that was awesome!". i'm not sure there's much more i could add to that - it's possibly the best compliment the band could have received about their 'last boat' single launch at the zoo on saturday night. but i'm going to give it a go.
you know when your face hurts at the end of a gig from smiling so much, and you find yourself still smiling in the morning? i'd say it's a pretty good sign that something quite musically amazing had unfolded.
i didn't really know what was in store with the supporting acts. the night began with kate martin. although i was not there for her set, i have heard good things. next, jac stone and her guitar [with a bearded extra also on acoustic guitar] treated us to something honest and quite lovely. with tunes somewhere between rootsy + popish, her voice was clean + beautiful. a very nice surprise. i look forward to the release of her ep.
the art of sleeping was a very easy listen. they describe themselves as korean pop/psychedelic. though, with hints of the temper trap, matt corby, jeff buckley and kings of leon, and, at times, the lead guitar reminded me a old u2 or even coldplay, i'm not sure what this label encompasses. [however, music can rarely be categorised easily into genres now.] they occasionally delivered quite a stadium sound. i did enjoy their set: music tangents + vocal loops made it engaging, and there were moments when closed eyes could just allow the whimsical vocals to seep in. there was the nice addition of 'lost at sea', a song they had written only that afternoon. i cannot, however, say that the band has a truly original sound. so it came as little surprise when they ended the set with a cover of the temper trap's 'sweet disposition'.
then, something rather fabulous happened.
montpelier, plus a fifth member [andy collins on electric guitar], opened with a long introduction to a pumping 'suburbia', followed immediately with 'danny'. now, i know i've said before that one thing i judge a good gig by is the engagement with the crowd - often done through talking between songs. well, montpelier didn't address the crowd until two songs in. but this didn't matter. it was almost as though the crowd was simply watching in on a jam session. there was an intimacy between band members, as they stole energy + glances from each other to create something special. and let's face it. montpelier is a very good looking band. [made all the more dapper dressed in subfusco.] so watching them just do their stuff on stage wasn't particularly difficult.
then andrew's piano accordion made an appearance. will + hannah [charlie mayfair] joined the boys on stage for 'the irish staircase', a happy, jiggy number, made all the more happy with the bouncing energy of all on stage. hannah was swapped with tom wearne [tin can radio] on trumpet and another charlie mayfair member, dave [dancing with his acoustic guitar], for the big 'take a picture'. at this point, the joy in the room swelled, and continued to do so as the night simmered on. a few more additional band member swaps for 'the harder times of yesterday' [hannah's voice was again exceptional] and then 'last boat' slipped quietly into the set. and without words at the song's end, 'start a war' began. quite a subtle 'launch' for an impressive song. a song that i always find myself singing for some time after seeing it live. the continuing collaboration between montpelier and charlie mayfair is great, and adds a little more richness to each band's gigs.
during the encore, greg sang a solo 'lonely people'. then finally, 'rafters'. wow. just wow. long, loud music tangents made this the highlight of the night. towards the end, dave + greg stopped singing and the crowd took over.
and so the end had finally come. although i am sure i could have smiled through another couple of hours. but the people stayed on. as did the clean, live fabulousness of montpelier's great indie-pop slash rock.
you know when your face hurts at the end of a gig from smiling so much, and you find yourself still smiling in the morning? i'd say it's a pretty good sign that something quite musically amazing had unfolded.
i didn't really know what was in store with the supporting acts. the night began with kate martin. although i was not there for her set, i have heard good things. next, jac stone and her guitar [with a bearded extra also on acoustic guitar] treated us to something honest and quite lovely. with tunes somewhere between rootsy + popish, her voice was clean + beautiful. a very nice surprise. i look forward to the release of her ep.
the art of sleeping was a very easy listen. they describe themselves as korean pop/psychedelic. though, with hints of the temper trap, matt corby, jeff buckley and kings of leon, and, at times, the lead guitar reminded me a old u2 or even coldplay, i'm not sure what this label encompasses. [however, music can rarely be categorised easily into genres now.] they occasionally delivered quite a stadium sound. i did enjoy their set: music tangents + vocal loops made it engaging, and there were moments when closed eyes could just allow the whimsical vocals to seep in. there was the nice addition of 'lost at sea', a song they had written only that afternoon. i cannot, however, say that the band has a truly original sound. so it came as little surprise when they ended the set with a cover of the temper trap's 'sweet disposition'.
then, something rather fabulous happened.
montpelier, plus a fifth member [andy collins on electric guitar], opened with a long introduction to a pumping 'suburbia', followed immediately with 'danny'. now, i know i've said before that one thing i judge a good gig by is the engagement with the crowd - often done through talking between songs. well, montpelier didn't address the crowd until two songs in. but this didn't matter. it was almost as though the crowd was simply watching in on a jam session. there was an intimacy between band members, as they stole energy + glances from each other to create something special. and let's face it. montpelier is a very good looking band. [made all the more dapper dressed in subfusco.] so watching them just do their stuff on stage wasn't particularly difficult.
then andrew's piano accordion made an appearance. will + hannah [charlie mayfair] joined the boys on stage for 'the irish staircase', a happy, jiggy number, made all the more happy with the bouncing energy of all on stage. hannah was swapped with tom wearne [tin can radio] on trumpet and another charlie mayfair member, dave [dancing with his acoustic guitar], for the big 'take a picture'. at this point, the joy in the room swelled, and continued to do so as the night simmered on. a few more additional band member swaps for 'the harder times of yesterday' [hannah's voice was again exceptional] and then 'last boat' slipped quietly into the set. and without words at the song's end, 'start a war' began. quite a subtle 'launch' for an impressive song. a song that i always find myself singing for some time after seeing it live. the continuing collaboration between montpelier and charlie mayfair is great, and adds a little more richness to each band's gigs.
during the encore, greg sang a solo 'lonely people'. then finally, 'rafters'. wow. just wow. long, loud music tangents made this the highlight of the night. towards the end, dave + greg stopped singing and the crowd took over.
and so the end had finally come. although i am sure i could have smiled through another couple of hours. but the people stayed on. as did the clean, live fabulousness of montpelier's great indie-pop slash rock.
a neat little paper stop-motion animation, by paul andrew rhodes and david anlezark, is the film clip for 'last boat'. contained within is a little fellow who disappears into an hallucinogenic nautical wonderland. it can be found here.
[images © nina hamilton 2010]
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