LAMB The Tivoli. 10.02.2015
WAITING In line at the box office for tonight’s LAMB gig, three immaculately groomed young men discuss how they are really looking forward to tonight’s performance as they missed the Manchester duo’s last tour to Australia four years ago.
The small crowd that Lamb has attracted to the Tivoli tonight move closer to the stage, as a steady pulsing beat grows louder and the lights dim. Even though the venue is less than half full, the crowd loudly welcomes singer Lou Rhodes, who is dressed in a stunning white dress, and Keyboardist/Producer Andy Barlow, all muscle and attitude, to Brisbane. Rhodes and Barlow are augmented tonight by bass player, Jon Thorne.
In Binary with its slow moving atmospheric tempo and heavy bass groove, kicks off the set tonight and has heads bobbing in time. New single We Fall In Love is next and gets a positive response from the crowd. Rhodes is a commanding presence on stage, but her vocals get a little lost in the bottom heavy mix. Big vocal delay effects also muddy her voice, but this is fixed about half way through the next song, Butterfly Effect, in which Barlow regularly implores the crowd to groove with him and wave their arms in the air.
With the mix problems fixed, As Satellites Go By shows Rhodes to be a fine vocalist in possession of a very interesting tone. It is a highlight of the early part of the set because its sparse arrangement offers some contrast to the music that preceded it.
Minimalist lighting design is used to great effect at tonights show. White searchlights against a black backdrop is used more than once and serves the arrangements well.
New album title track Backspace Unwind is one of the few songs played tonight that has a fairly straightforward beat. Strong the Root, Nobody Else and What Makes Us Human all return to Lamb’s broken beat type grooves. I can’t shake the feeling that tonight’s performance would have been much more interesting had Lamb employed a live drummer. The human groove would have lifted the music to another level and offered a more dynamic reading of their repertoire. A live Drummer might also have offered Thorne a foil for his excellent bass playing.
After leaving the stage briefly the trio reappear with What Sound, which wouldn’t be out of place in a David Lynch movie. Gorecki is another of this evening’s highlights and is followed by Trans Fatty Acid. The double debut album shot is an excellent way to close tonight’s performance.
Less than ten minutes after the band finish their show they are at the merchandise stand meeting and greeting the people who paid their hard earned to see them tonight. This is an impressive way to finish the night because it is something that most international artists now charge a fee for. Coupled with the fact that Rhodes, Barlow and Thorne played a cross section of songs from the Lamb albums in tonight’s set, shows that they appreciate their audience as much as the audience adores them.
Words: Craig L Thomson.
