Brett Anderson Live in Hong Kong 2010

01-10-10

Thank you to everyone who came to our first big event at Hitec! We had a great time and are so pleased to have hosted Brett’s 2010 show in Hong Kong! Big shout out to Alex & Jimmy for the production and to Ade & Winnie for the PR. Huge hugs to The Underground team. And thank you Brett and Of Moths & Stars for making it a very cool way to end National Day 🙂
love Chris B x

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Of Moths & Stars

Setlist:
1. Never Get Older
2. Stay Indoors
3. Candlelight Thieving
4. Blue Moon
5. Avalanche
6. Closer
7. Bittersweet Symphony [The Verve cover]
8. Polyphonic Rust

The night, that began with a set typical of OM&S, was a big one for them for more than one reason. Not only was this one of their most high-profile shows to date, but they also debuted an important change to their line-up – the voice and violin of the lovely Tally Atkins. This proved to be fortuitous, because the richness of sound needed to make their music work its magic on the listener’s mind was lacking that night. They sounded a bit thin, and this did detract a tad from the crackling emotional charge that their sets usually carry; the deplorable echo in the rotunda didn’t help either. But, it could’ve been a lot worse – the condition was remedied significantly by the addition of another sonic element to fill up the sound, which was her fluid violin, standing in fascinating contrast with Chris’ assault-style of acoustic guitar.

They won the crowd over quite easily, with the twisting melodies of Never Get Older and Candlelight Thieving. The crowd sang along to their songs when prompted, which is always a good sign. They employed more harmonies than they used to, and this made their more bohemian-folk-sounding songs Blue Moon and Closer sound especially good. As always with a violin, the songs had an extra dose of soul, which the crowd clearly felt as well, for they were freely moving to the music (often following the hyper-spasmodic movements of Nate). The crowd even had the pleasure of a little comic relief, provided by the banter scattered between songs, the breaking of a string (as usual) by Chris, and the brief pantomimic exchange between the two guys. Before it got too droll for its own good, though, the scene was changed by a rousing tune from Jackson, Wyoming, played impromptu by Tally.

Another notable change to their set was the cover of Bittersweet Symphony. It was, however, almost completely different from the original in its form; despite this, the move seemed to go down well with the audience, who were happy to sing along (which justifies it as a musical choice, despite my personal dislike of their doing covers). Polyphonic Rust saw an electric guitar being added to the mix, making it the most rich-sounding song of the night. They did an appreciable job of building up to the zenith of their set, which was the song’s last chorus, and as the guitars died down, the crowd filled in with their applause – the most concrete testament to a peak conquered.
— Shashwati

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Brett Anderson (England 英國)

Setlist:
1. Hymn
2. Wheatfields
3. The Hunted
4. Unsung
5. Brittle Heart
6. Unstoppable
7. Ashes of Us
8. Empress/Clowns
9. Chinese Whispers
10. Different Place
11. Back to You
12. This Must Be Where it Ends [*1st time played live]
13. Julian’s Eyes
14. Actors
15. The Swans
16. Funeral Mantra [Encore]

As is (unfortunately) typical of big-name concerts, the crowd was made to wait a long time for Brett Anderson to begin his set. Still, it didn’t seem to faze them, judging by the sheer enthusiasm and volume with which they applauded any movement onstage (hey, at least this way the sound guys nick some applause for once, huh?). The anticipation hung heavy in the air, but was released completely the second Brett Anderson walked up to his mike; his voice and a single keyboard note were all that survived that the thick wall of cheers. Now, the crowd probably had a minimum of 50% of its constituents desperately waiting to hear some Suede songs throughout the night; to his credit, he didn’t footnote himself by pandering to this. The set was composed entirely of songs from his last two albums, plus some new songs, and these were treated with full commitment by all those onstage. To his advantage, his backing band was very good indeed; all of them were able to make their mark on the show without ever appearing to be trying to usurp the attention from Anderson himself.

While his albums have been softer and more “pastoral” than his previous work, neither adjective really applied to the arrangements that night – the songs were rocked up for the show, and had little of the ruminating quality that pervades his albums, without losing their maturity, forming what I like to call atmospheric rock. This, obviously, suited a live performance more, and the audience were able to move along to the songs exultantly. However, no one moved more than Anderson – he was a man possessed onstage- partly a curious mix of Todd Rundgren and Tom Verlaine’s angular appearances, Michael Stipe and Iggy Pop’s movements, but mostly a gracefully milder version of his former stage character, with his lightly nasal, slightly gravelly voice that would cut through a fog.

The austere Hymn was the opener, full of feeling and sincerity, aided in no small part by a significantly augmented richness in the sound system. Unsung and Brittle Heart were kind of epic in their feel, with the music stuck in eternal rock-‘n’-roll-breakdown mode, soothingly rousing in the way that good soft rock is. Empress/Clowns saw the band exit the stage, leaving just Brett, his guitar, and the crowd to make a connection through the somewhat sorrowful, brooding feel of the two songs combined, with some quite emotional swaying by the crowd. The songs that followed were even better, with the classic combination of a wistful, plaintive voice and teasing reverbed guitar on Chinese Whispers, and the more crusading feel of Back to You. This Must Be Where it Ends was played live for the first time ever, and this went down superbly with the audience. This song had a more rocking feel to it, with a harder rhythm section, wah-ed guitars, and a feeling of blissful relief from something unpleasant coming to an end. The Swans had a wall of guitar that served as the background for Anderson’s voice, like a philosopher’s, passing booming edicts. Funeral Mantra was a manic maelstrom of an encore, with his voice having reached fever pitch, and it and the drums plunged into the song’s concluding part, as he descended the stage to serenade the listeners more closely.

The trouble was that no amount of stage presence can compensate for an inexpertly arranged set. The idea was, evidently, to have a peak, a trough and then a peak in the feel; however, the first few songs did not build up enough to justify the placement of Ashes of Us and the acoustic break – it made one feel disoriented and lose focus, and dampened the acoustic bit’s effect as well. This undermines not only the performer, but the rest of the set as well. It seemed difficult for someone who wasn’t a dedicated fan of his to get into the songs, which often seemed lost between their original feel and that which they were made to adopt for the show (I personally was left a bit cold). Again, the rotunda was definitely not the best sounding place in the world, which was no help.

Having said that, the second half of the set was a distinct improvement upon the first – perhaps a sign that Anderson should stick to an edgier sound. If rearranged smartly, the set could truly do justice to his own talent and experience, while also moving fans and non-fans alike. I think I can say, though, that no one left bored, and his many fans seemed quite content with the show; and on balance, that’s really what matters most.
— Shashwati

photos © Copyright 2010 by ANGUS LEUNG & Carina Ho

poster by ANGUS LEUNG

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