Bristol's Louisiana looks good, sounds good and even on a dull Monday puts on remarkably good gigs. This one had the lifeblood injection of two fine local bands and the meat and drink of full strength US showmanship.
Luke Wyland on keyboards and virtuoso vocal, and Dana Valatka on the drum kit make as much noise and physical propulsion as anything with eight legs and guitars. Rich in bass, packed full of 16 to the bar spasms, grinning like fools, AU started at the top of the helter-skelter and whooped their way all to the dance floor. "I love an audience that dances" said Wyland, and the audience shouted with joy.
They tore through the contents of the current album "Both Lights" and did full justice to the complexity and variety of the tracks on there. Strictly speaking it's dance music, quite complex composed electro pop, but it uses long up-tempo sections that thump like a bastard and squeal for the joy of it. There is plenty of on-stage pyrotechnicity going on: hands, arms and heads flailing and sweating to keep it all happening. Americans do that convivial "let's party" routine with such transparently sincere cheesiness that you just have to love it. AU are masters of the style. The enthusiasm of their complex compositions is more than matched by their physical attack.
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They even slip in a drum solo, the style of which I haven't heard since the late 60s. Humour, excitement and shouting out loud difficulty made it a highlight rather than the customary spliff break for the rest of the band. By the time it was finished the crowd were bursting.
The support bands were well worth a mention and AU, gracious souls that they are, gave them generous and deserved thanks. I was really struck by HOLLOW GIANTS, a crisp trio projecting Joe Tennant's exciting, fluent guitar. Moving out of bluesy basics, with flashes of the unpredictability of Shield Your Eyes, they lock tight together and Tennant's voice is warm and confident. Recommended.
For tonight the opening band was I AM HORSE, three multi-instrumentalists (for tonight) with classical shapes. They are tentative in their approach but they use a wide range of textures and combinations. Magda Conway takes a lead vocal role with flute, melodica and glockenspiel while Suzi Lamb plays a meticulous drum kit and Anna Gravelle puts up strong keyboard and vocal parts.
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