Venue:
Union Chapel, Islington
Date: 10/12/2015
Some combinations are just meant to be, and one of those if the sound of The Unthanks and the soaring vault and gothic revival architecture of Union Chapel. If there is a lovelier sound in music, or a more beautiful music venue in London, then I don’t know them. Warmed by electric lamps fixed to the lower edge of the balcony, just below the tea lights twinkling against their marble inlays, a capacity crowd listened in hushed awe. It really was one of the most beautiful sounding and looking events I have ever attended.
When I booked the tickets I thought this might be a festive show of some kind but instead it turned out to be a celebration of ten years of The Unthanks. Rachel and Becky started the show unaccompanied, singing John Dead a Capella just as they did in their earliest days of performing. Over the next few songs more band members were added until the full current ten piece line up were on stage, starting with musical arranger and keyboardist (and Mr Rachel Unthank) Adrian McNally and finishing with strings, drums and trumpet. Each addition create a new layer to the sound without overwhelming those marvellous voices. That said, during King of Rome the drums and trumpet started to swing and for a moment it looked like the song was in danger of turning into The Pigeon is a Tramp. Happily the song, and the first half of the show, drew to a close before this could come to pass.
I’m not a great fan of intervals in headline acts’ performances, and this show suffered more than most. I understand the economic reasons. It must cost a lot to keep a ten piece band on the road and I was more than happy to buy a copy of the rarities CD to add to the merch stall takings (before the performance I had wondered why there was nothing for sale until the interval; it turned out to be because it was staffed by Adrian and multi-instrumentalist Niopha Keegan, who presumably had musical matters on their minds pre show time). But when the second part of the show started it seemed to struggle to make up its lost momentum, not helped by a particularly bleak choice of songs. Still beautiful, still heart-rending, but this shorter section of the show seemed to be over when it had hardly begun.
If you’ve heard The Unthanks and been unmoved then this show might not have changed your mind. You could have admired the gorgeous setting and the lighting changes while admiring the craft without having you emotions engaged. But for those of us who find something current yet ancient, mournful but life affirming, in their sound this was both a superb spectacle and an emotionally thrilling musical evening, and whatever your taste in music you can’t ask more of a gig than that.
The audience:
Very couply, middle aged and older (The Light and I are both poking 50 with a short stick and were probably still below the average age) respectful during the songs, roused to huge applause by the end.
It made me think..
At moments I found myself thinking that I wanted to live inside this gig.
anth25 says
Saw them on Sunday night for the first time and would agree with most of what you said. Some of the subject matter for the songs was pretty bleak particularly the song (name escapes me) sang from the point of view of a mother contemplating her son going off to fight in WW1. As you said not quite a festive Christmas singalong…not that that was what I was after.
I would have liked to hear a few more stripped back songs like the opening track as their voices live really are something to behold.
All in all though it was a fantastic night and as a Teessider the opening to “The Romantic Tees” was the closest I have come to tears at a gig in a long time!
Two days later I took my Dad to see Whitesnake as he was a big fan. Slightly different experience!!!
DogFacedBoy says
Earlier dates in the tour were just the five piece so different songs and stripped back arrangements
ernietothecentreoftheearth says
Out of curiosity, I wonder if the audience at the Scala was any younger ?
Gatz says
I can’t say, but we’re old enough that we took the cushions from a couple of dining room chairs along to make the pews easier!
DogFacedBoy says
It was (90%) all standing at the Roundhouse earlier this year and the audience was about the same demographic
ganglesprocket says
I am 41 and Mrs G is 39. We were there and felt like such groovy young swingers. Great review but, I have to say, wasn’t too arsed about the interval. I was won over to such an extent (and yes the venue is so beautiful and the crowd was definately respectful) that I just thought of it as almost support act and main act.
Plus in the second half you got Mount The Air and Here’s The Tender Coming (and more acapella) so I just loved it. Best gig I’ve been to in years. And yup, I got Rachel and Becky to sign my CD as well…
Gatz says
Did you see Jeremy Corbyn? I swear I saw him, but The Light in unconvinced. The Unthanks Twitter feed says that lots of people reported seeing him last night, and he is the local MP of course, but he was in Carlisle at flood zones yesterday and, to be fair, half the men there looked like Jeremy Corbyn.
DogFacedBoy says
“bleak choice of songs” – that’s their whole repertoire!
duco01 says
Yeah, there certainly aren’t too many laughs in “The Testimony of Patience Kershaw”, for example.
Great band, though.
biggles says
Gatz,
Thank you for the excellent review.
I was at The Scala the night before (as you know!) and even if I could’ve posted thoughts I didn’t want to as it may have spoiled things a little for you last night.
Some other thoughts:
– average age definitely advanced – I’m over 50 and didn’t feel old. The Boy (24) may have been the youngest there, though he has now seen them 3 times
– Marry Waterson was very good – her set was only 30-ish minutes – and she was very pleasant when I had a brief chat with her as she signed my CD of Two Wolves
– I struggle these days at standing gigs…
– was a little embarrassed when I realised people were staring at us as we cheered a little loudly between songs because Olivier Giroud completed his hat-trick
– the trumpet player (Lizzie Jones, I think) is awesome, and such an integral part of the overall sound. Elements of her playing – especially with the drummer (Alex?) – made me think of the jazzy directions that new stuff could move in to
– if the organisers secure Becky and Rachel for a future Sark Folk Festival, I think I would cry
ernietothecentreoftheearth says
Interestingly( or not) Mount the Air comes early in the set when they play without an interval, as at Skegness last weekend.
Gatz says
At Folk by the Oak this summer they played the full version as the second song than an edit, with Rachel and Becky’s bows just at that wonderful point where the drums swell, then there is a pause before Lizzie Jones’ trumpet kicks in again.
She an interesting musician, and her trumpet and Adrian’s spooky keyboards model the current band sound. In addition to jazzy notes she adds an effect which reminds me of Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti western soundtracks at times. I only realised just now that she didn’t play on the album; that was a trumpeter called Tom Arthuer.
Gatz says
I lost myself in the tangle of my sub clauses in that first sentence. I meant to write ‘then an edited version at the end of the set’.
Vince Black says
When they played in Bury in mid October the trumpeter was Victoria Rule. I wonder if she’s a Royalist?
Gatz says
After a Google image search on both names, I think it was Victoria Rule at Union Chapel too.
retropath2 says
2016 resolution: see the Unthanks. Still not managed yet.
ganglesprocket says
Seriously, Thursday was the first time I’ve seen them and I’ve been listening to them for about seven years or something like that. Babies, illness, holidays, general uselessness have always contrived to make me miss them. But they really were so brilliant and they are so special. There’s no other word. I was an enormous fan before, but I’m practically a dribbling loon about them now.
SteveT says
Agree with you Ganglesprocket – I have all of their albums and await their latest hopefully this am when the postie can be bothered to turn up. However live they are a different proposition and the Mount the Air compositions in particular just soar. That 10 piece band are just a joy and yes Becky and Rachel rightly take centre stage but the arrangements are just amazing.
Mousey says
This is all great to read, I’m not much of a fan of “folk music” but I do like the Unthanks.
And intervals at concerts are stupid.
Makka Pakka says
I saw the Unthanks earlier in this tour also at Lincoln Drill Hall. Just the five piece on that occasion. A very intimate performance in comparison to the previous gig i saw with strings and brass. They always seem to be able to finish off their first half with a wonderful piece of music which lodges itself so much in your mind that you’re still thinking about it in the second half. On this occasion it was Gallowgate Lad, previously an epic Mount the Air with clogging a frenzy!
I succumbed to the merchandise stall also at half time which was a bit of scrum of fans all pre ordering the bands limited edition 10th Anniversary Box Set complete with rareties CD, live DVD, Christmas Single, Songbook and Recipe Book no less!
The band played a lot of side project songs on tis night, including a beautiful song called ‘Peggys Song’ off Stings recent Last Ship Project. Good enough to cause me to request that CD for Christmas which is rather fabulous but turned out to not have that song on it!