Gig Review... Wild Beasts @ The Junction, Cambridge, 25th November 2011

I was so looking forward to seeing Wild Beasts live, purely because this would be the 4th time seeing the Kendal based band play. After seeing them support The Temper Trap and White Lies within the space of 4 days in 2009 and seeing them playing to a half filled gig at The Troxy in East London it was a present surprise to see the place filled with such a diverse fan-base, from the typical screaming girls in the front row, to the distinguished old gentlemen and his wife towards the back.


IMAGE (c) of Paolo Perona

They opened the show with an instrumental of 'Burning' playing away, then they all appeared on stage to a mass of cheers and hand-claps. 'Lion's Share' and 'Bed Of Nails' were the first two songs they played fully, and with an additional member providing the samples to create a more in-depth sound. They seem to be lapping up the warmth they received from the crowd and that really did show when they played 'Albatross', the track was longer than usual, but the additional 15 to 20 seconds on the last part of the chorus won me over. One of only two songs to survive from the 'Limbo, Panto' era was next, 'Devils Crayon' still has me in awe even to this day and it's a nice step back in time to when they played to barely anyone - and as Tom Fleming put it " we also played here to about 20 Arab business men in Cambridge". The first track off their Mercury Prize nominate 2nd album was next and I still don't know why to this day they have never won the accolade! 'Two Dancers (I)' was the song I sung the most of, purely because of the very dark and sexual lyrics? Maybe, but also because of the atmosphere when the first few notes were played, the place was buzzing! They've just performed one of the best sets I've ever seen, and then they came back to an encore that I've never seen before. The last three tracks were not a shade under magnificent and the last track 'The End Has Come Too Soon' was very apt, the 7:33 long track ending what has been a fantastic night to be a fan of great British music!

Wild Beasts played:
Lion's Share
Bed Of Nails
Albatross
Devils Crayon
The Fun Powder Plot
His Grinning Skull
This Is Our Lot
Loop The Loop
Two Dancers (I)
Reach A Bit Further
Hooting & Howling

Plaything
All The King's Men
The End Has Come Too Soon

If you want to see Wild Beasts, they have just announced more shows in March:
Sun 11th – Warwick, University
Mon 12th – Norwich, Waterfront
Tues 13th – Colchester, Arts Centre
Wed 14th – Exeter, Phoenix
Thur 15th – Falmouth, Pavilion
Fri 16th – Cardiff, Coal Exchange
Sun 17th – Liverpool, Masque Theatre

Wild Beasts - Thankless Thing by DominoRecordCo

[FACEBOOK]
[OFFICIAL SITE]