Gig Watch : British Sea Power

British Sea Power

Review by Kathryn Mahina

Excitement was palpable in the Corner Hotel Band Room as the benevolent British Sea Power finally brought their much hyped live show to Australia. Diehard fans lined the barrier wearing their BSP tees with pride, awaiting the arrival of their musical loves. 

First up though on the smaller stage were a couple of local acts from the Two Bright Lakes label Nick Huggins and Seagull.

Nick Huggins was like an even younger, nerdier version of Ben Lee. A man and his guitar can often be a moving thing, however in this case it was more of a bland disappointment. 

Huggins played some downbeat, mellow tunes, a few of which were rather pretty, but his average vocal ability left a lot to be desired. His set was not particularly interesting, with the majority of the crowd left talking amongst themselves, except for one intoxicated heckler who ran up to the stage to inform Huggins that "we all fucking love you, really we do".

Seagull’s set was so bad, it was almost funny. Their first song was enjoyable with the moody atmospheric sounds and big tom drumming, but this was ruined by the singers awful, awful vocals. 

They were not an exciting band to watch, didn’t appear to be enjoying themselves at all, and spent a lot of time talking about their upcoming gigs and trying to fix the tom drum when its legs fell off.

After that performance never seeing or hearing Seagull again sounds like bliss to me. 

They had an interesting setup with a guitar, an accordion, a keyboard and the tom drum and their sound their sound could be best described as experimental pop. Whilst their arrangements were interesting, they were overridden by the singer's poor performance.

Towards the end of their set he appeared just to be talking gibberish into the microphone whilst shaking his head around like he was having a fit. There’s a big difference between experimental music and just plain shit, and unfortunately for Seagull they fall into the latter category.

As the opening strains of 'All In It' started blaring through the speakers, the band room erupted as the curtains opened and British Sea Power took to the main stage to thunderous applause and launched into 'Lights Out For Darker Skies'. 

To put it bluntly British Sea Power are fucking amazing live. Yan, Noble, Wood, Abi and Sumner were a sight to behold, with all of the band members opting to forego footwear and tucking their trousers into their socks (except for Abi, who was barefoot) and Sumner decked out in a cape.

They have a phenomenal stage presence, heightened by their epic, sweeping sound and uber hot accents that had the crowd hanging on their every word. The band are well schooled performers, swinging the mic around with some sexy onstage moves and psyching up the crowd by spraying water all over everyone in the front row.

And whilst the almost two hour long set was devoid of any ridiculous daredevil antics that British Sea Power are known for (such as failed stage diving and smashed teeth) they were still an absolute treasure to see live. 

They played an even mix of songs from their extensive back catalogue, and a personal highlight was the inclusion of almost every song from my favourite British Sea Power record Do You Like Rock Music?, with ripper renditions of 'Oh Lucifer' and a crowd sing a long to 'Waving Flags' and 'Down On The Ground'.

Yan and Hamilton are interchangeable as bass player and lead singer, which gave the set an interesting spin as the two took turns leading the band and rocking the audience into musical oblivion. 

British Sea Power’s first Australian Expedition was a grand success, evidenced by the massive crowd spilling out of the band room at the end of the night with enormous smiles on their faces, having just witnessed a grand musical treat.

Brought To You By The Dwarf