Noah and the Whale: Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Gig 12: 29 March 2012
By now the merely going along to 40 gigs this year seemed eminently achievable and I am definitely enjoying the challenge or getting a little bit obsessed with going along to gigs, not having huge amounts of spare time, its taken the place of going to the Gym, another win!
So Noah and the Whale was selected by me and Planty from Song Kick to attend, and the date rolled round, having been to a leaving do for someone from work and stopped chatting a little bit too long, the journey to Wolverhampton was incredibly speedy, I played the game of beat the satnav to very good effect arriving in the usual spot and racing up and into the gig.
I was keen to catch the support and cooking lager in hand I got in to see Lucy Rose who I had researched a little on youtube and really enjoyed, singer, guitar, quirky songs, just my particular cup of tea, a bit like this Youtube clip:
Live however this cracking song writer had surrounded herself with a band who just didn't seem to be playing anything to do with Lucy's songs, and I was a bit underwhelmed.
May have been the big venue, the fact I was stood under the balcony at the Civic and the sound wasn't perfect or I missed the point, but I would give Lucy a second chance hopefully when she returns to the Little Civic in June.
The crowd was in good attendance for the support and gave a better response than me I suppose, whilst I finished off my cooking lager with traditional plastic glass.
It was clear that the audience were ready for Noah and the Whale, there was a palpable buzz going round and when the support music turned off, lights dimmed and the curtain at the back was lit up in Mondriane style the buzz increased. This was then brilliantly captured by the Noah's punctuating little messages in the squares building the anticipation, more and more, are you ready?, are you ready? here we go! NOAH AND THE WHALE, ending with the back drop as the photo above, a really impressive build up.
Coming on to Life is Life, I was immediately in, ooooooh I like this one mode, rocking back and forth on my heels (my preferred gig shimmying) to the songs, and venturing out from under the balcony to be greeted by a much better all round sound.
I wasn't the only person enjoying this, the rest of the audience were very much into it, as was in particular the lady in front of me, who was a dancing whirlwind, well when I say whirlwind, she danced like the dancing priest from Father Ted, not in time to the music, just really enjoying herself.
I loved this free spirit and emotion, reminded me of Phoebe from Friends when she went running through Central Park and ran like a 5 year old arms and legs going all over the place in abandon, I've tried this (admittedly running through a forest where no-one could see me and it is liberating).
The thing that struck me as we went through the gig was how tight the band were on stage and how far from the Mumford and Sons / Laura Marling twee folks they were, the gig was really rousing and cracking, upbeat and fun, and as a result there were great engaged sing alongs with the audience.
A nice touch was for Love of an Orchestra where an Orchestra was wheeled in, but virtually, where violinist Tom steps off stage right and then back into the orchestra in celluloid. A very nice touch which was Charlie Fink commented was made even more remarkable by this vortex being able to change all of Tom's clothes, but again a great tune.
The songs kept coming and I kept thinking how I like this one, I like this one, Noah and the Whale have secretly snook up on me without me knowing! Last song of the set was L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N which was a perfect way to finish, ensuring mass sing along and everyone was happy.
Having satisfied everyone, the encore was the indulgent wig out of The First Days of Spring, but I had already Lifegoeson lodged in my brain for the drive home and sleep. A cracking nights entertainment and well worth the entrance fee.
Set List:
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(Heart cover)
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- Encore:
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