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Architecture In Helsinki + Clue To Kalo, Belittle League Fowler's Live, Sat 6 Aug  Belittle
League - or Morgan Read, as he is sometimes known - is an absolute
champion. For one thing he writes great music: music that should be
passed down from generation to generation. For another thing, he's
a true performer, taking the limitations of his live show and making
them advantages. His axe is a tiny Korg synthesiser the size of a
computer keyboard, consolidated by a sampler found lying on the floor.
With two microphones, a vocoder, a predetermined beat and the occasional
patter of synth keys, he became the consummate entertainer, performing
to the small but vocal crowd in an extraordinary manner. Sure, he
can't dance, but he can writhe around the stage like a madman in fine
form. And he gave us the finest robot I have ever seen, coupled later
with the world's first binary rap ("one one zero zero one..."). Go
Belittle League, go!Persistent long-standing heroes of introspective indie music Clue To Kalo were next, playing a characteristically strong set of extremely interesting and engaging music. They don't play around these parts too often, but when they do, they provide quite a memorable experience. However, it must be said that they didn't seem terribly suited to the by now unpredictably large crowd and brought the mood down somewhat. For those who keyed in to their ambient sounds, they were certainly no disappointment. By the time seven-eighths of Architecture In Helsinki graced the stage their crowd was packed like sardines inside the rather large confines of Fowler's Live. And although us audience members were certainly giving everything we had (especially stage left, about halfway down, where my moves could be found), there seemed to be at times a lack of energy in the room. This certainly wasn't the fault of songwriter Cameron Bird, whose seemingly innocent charms were made for lively entertainment. In fact, I'm not entirely sure why, except possibly for song choices - there was a noticeable lull in energy in the mid-section of the set. But their finale, particularly by the time we heard current single Do The Whirlwind, went a long way to correct this mood. There was many a smiling face in the crowd after this performance, although I can't help but think we might have missed out on even more.  |
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