Emiliana Torrini // Concorde2

Brighton Live presents Emiliana Torrini at the Concorde 2

Diversity is a central theme of Brighton Live, which is now in its third year of running, but even so, I am puzzled as to how Emiliana Torrini, my all time favourite Italian-Icelandic songstress has made it on to the bill of what is meant to be a celebration of local musical talent. No complaints from your reviewer on this, however, I have been looking forward to this gig for a long time and for me, at least, this was the highlight of the week-long festival.

Venues, promoters, labels, record shops and musicians have come together to create a showcase of live music across all genres – 250 performers at 100 events has meant a busy week for music lovers all over town. The host venues were almost as varied as the acts themselves – Brighton’s big name clubs such as Audio, Union and The Ocean Rooms stood alongside smaller bars and more traditional pubs such as Polar Central and The Albert as well as the usual venues for live performances such as The Freebutt, The Joogleberry and of course the Concorde, the venue for tonight’s event.

We catch the bus down there, as I just can’t face the overly long walk, and by the time we arrive the first support act is already playing. The main room seems busy, but not too busy, just about right for this kind of gig. The first act is called Adem, one half of Fridge; the other half being Kieren Hebden of Four Tet fame. At first glance, he appears to fit the mould of standard singer-songwriter in the nu-folk vein, but some excellent songs at the end of his set impress me. Simplicity seems to be the key here, but that’s not to say his songs lack impact. I’m expecting something similar for the second support, I’ve never heard of Storveit Nix Noltes, but when I find out that they’re an eight-piece Bulgarian gypsy band, I stop feeling quite so musically uneducated. Anticipation grows as they tune up, which takes a while, there being eight of them: two guitars, double bass, drums, two trumpets, one of whom also played the flute, trombone/euphonium, and an accordion. It’s their debut performance in the UK and they seem a little nervous. The crowd love it though, and soon some hardcore fans have made their way to the front to dance in the space in front of the stage. One woman with less rhythm than I’ve ever before encountered in a human being seems to take pleasure in invading my personal space. My musically educated photographer points out she is finding it difficult to dance in 15/8 and I should cut her some slack. This might be related to why its difficult to describe the music – considering the familiarity of the instruments, Storveit Nix Noltes sound unlike anything I’ve listened to before. The set is varied, some haunting and melancholy, others more upbeat and cheerful. An excellent choice for a support act anyway; the mood is set for Emiliana, whose voice you would probably recognise, as she sang “Gollum’s Song” in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers.

This gig is part of her tour promoting Fisherman’s Woman, her second worldwide release but fifth album, and she starts with Sunny Road. This whole album is amazing. It is one of the most perfect recordings of its genre I have ever come across, so it will always be difficult for a live performance to match up, but Emiliana does a good job on this occasion. I’ve seen her once before, at the Bestival on the Isle of Wight at the end of the summer but the intimacy of the Concorde suits her much better. She seems to be a somewhat nervous performer for someone of international renown. I love the little stories she tells in between songs, its almost like you’re getting a bit of comedy along with the music.

She plays Fisherman’s Woman, my favourite track from the album and adds an extra verse that’s not on the recording. “Happiness, it’s not my thing” she says, and that is definitely true. Tracks such as At Least It Was and Today Has Been Okay emphasise this fact, though it’s no bad thing. One of Emiliana’s strengths is her complete lack of pretension – the way she sings is honest and natural and the audience is captivated throughout. Her set was flawless; my only complaint was, as with the last time I saw her perform, she didn’t play any of her earlier songs – I was particularly hoping for To Be Free, her 1999 single from Love In The Time of Science – but alas, it was not to be. It was the Fisherman’s Woman tour, after all, so I can’t complain.

The night was still young at the end of the gig, so I wandered down to Audio where I found an unsurprisingly huge queue for the Scratch Perverts. Be warned, readers, there is a reason why there is a queue outside Audio, and everywhere else is empty! Still though, an amazing gig – a definite success for Brighton Live.

Alison x

Concorde2
http://www.concorde2.co.uk/

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Brighton
BN2 1EN

Telephone: 01273 697888
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Words: The Marror Stuffer