Thursday 17th February 2011
Brisbane five piece Oh Ye Denver Birds took to the stage in the support slot for Lamb at the sold out Prince of Wales. Drawing from influences such as 90s, early Cure and Joy Division right through to more recent bands such as Architecture In Helsinki and !!! with a little Mazzy Star-style dream pop thrown in for good measure, Oh Ye Denver Birds put in a thoroughly enjoyable and eclectic set, mixing electronica with traditional rock elements.
Performing live for the first time in fourteen months, Lamb graced the stage tonight as a three piece. Consisting of the core duo of the band, multi instrumentalist Andy Barlow and vocalist Lou Rhodes, and joined by double bassist/multi instrumentalist Jon Thorne, it became clear from the start that Lamb have a soft spot for Australia and Melbourne in particular. As they went on to display during the night, there were definitely no cobwebs with performing live after not doing so for such a long time!
The joy that Lou and Andy felt about playing together again was both palpable and infectious. The audience was one of the most happy and respectful this scribe has seen a gig in a long time. There were some wonderfully human moments during the concert, such as when Jon gave a copy of the set list to a pregnant woman sitting side of stage. Another was when the band mentioned it was their sound tech’s birthday, the crowd spontaneously broke into “Happy Birthday”!
Over their career Lamb have never limited themselves musically – when they formed in Manchester in the mid nineties, they were seen as part of the Bristol trip hop scene, along with the likes of Massive Attack and Portishead. The diverse influences of this scene ranged from dub, to jazz and Velvet Underground-style white noise.
The danger with a lot of electronic based music in a live format is that, from a performance perspective, it comes off as dry and uninvolved. Happily this was far from the case with Lamb. That down to earth and unpretentious Manchester attitude is very much part of the charm of the band and this was very much about the band rediscovering music and reconnecting with their fans. Andy always looked like he was having an absolute ball on stage.
Lamb officially split up in 2004. Over the past few years, both Lou Rhodes and Andy Barlow have pursued their own side projects; Lou has toured Australia twice as a solo artist. They have, over the past few years, been taking tentative steps back into music and reforming Lamb. The band are releasing a new album, 5, in the next few months. Tonight, they previewed a few tracks off the new album, with ‘Strong The Root’ standing out amongst the new material. This was the first time that they had played some of their new tracks live anywhere in the world.
Live, Lamb sound more muscular and assertive than in the recorded format. Andy Barlow creates a compelling sound via all his electronic devices and keyboards., while Jon Thorne was in his element on double bass, always a very distinctive feature of Lamb’s sound.
Drawing heavily on their debut album, the set featured wonderful tracks such as ‘God Bless’ and a wonderful version of ‘Trans Fatty Acid’.
At times, the sound threatened to overwhelm punters and sound a bit same-ish. However, there has always been one quality to Lamb that ties it all together and holds it back from the brink. That would be the utterly unique and astounding presence and voice of Lou Rhodes, providing a sonic clash between the way Andy and her approach music. This between the two on a musical level has always been one of the big appeals of Lamb.
Although some in the crowd may have been hesitant about whether or not Lou’s voice would still sound as spectacular as it has over the years. they need not have worried! It’s hard to find the words to describe how beautiful and affecting her voice is, possessing a set of pipes that can deeply stir and move you on an emotional level, fragile but strong at the same time. What she can do with a note or a word most singers can only dream about! It’s rare to find vocalists that can hit you on a visceral and emotional level. Lou Rhodes is one of those few that can.
The absolute highlights of the set were a stunning rendition of “Gabriel” and the first and second encores, which featured “Lullaby” and “Cotton Wool” respectively.
There was, however, one moment during the show that will go into this reporters list of all-time live concert moments. That would be when the band kicked in to what has become their most well known and signature track, “Gorecki”.
This is still quite possibly one of most perfect songs ever. Everything about the track , such as sound, vocals and lyrics, simply combine and complement each other so wonderfully. Live, “Gorecki” just takes your breath away. It’s great to hear Lamb back and working again and in a manner that provides plenty of anticipation for their forthcoming album.
– Neil Evans
