Went to see Alt-J last night - the hipster that I am. I bought the tickets last September before the Mercury Music prize award thanks to the regular playing of their debut CD An Awesome Wave on 6Music.
I didn’t get there until 8:30 and thought I’d miss the supporting acts Hundred Waters and Princess Chelsee, never being a big fan of supporting acts I’ve never heard of, but I ended up seeing the latter who was entertaining enough. I was tempted to buy her CD from the merchandise stall but I wasn’t going to pay a tenner for it, reckoning that I could get a download cheaper from Bandcamp or E music. Cheapskate as well as hipster.
The crowd was mostly student and young. There were a lot of young women there and I have noticed over the years that they make up a much larger proportion of the gig going crowd than they did when I was but a young student.
Alt-J were good, technically very good, but it was a bit like someone else once said about seeing The Editors, standing in a darkened room whilst a CD was played loudly. Except it wasn’t actually loud enough to drown out the chatter of the audience.
I have experienced this before ( Turin Brakes at the University Union for example ) where a band are playing complicated tunes that rely heavily on competing sounds and vocal harmonies almost ruined by the incessant chatter and increasing loudness of the conversations happening around you. I was wondering halfway through the night why you would pay £15 to get in and then pay ridiculous prices for low quality drinks just to chat with your mates when you could do that for much less at the Union Bar or any Wetherspoons. It annoyed me a bit and almost came close to spoiling my enjoyment of their set. Is music now so readily available and so taken for granted that seeing a band live is no longer valued in itself and you go along to laugh have a joke and a few beers and take pictures/videos on your IPhone to post on Facebook as many of the audience were doing. Or am I just old and out of touch?
Perhaps you could argue that Alt-J failed to capture the audience and hold its attention. Other reviewers have said as much and maybe they are right. When I saw Fleet Foxes at the O2 a couple of years ago they held the audience’s full attention, there was no chatter even when they played literally unplugged.
There was little passion about Alt-J’s performance last night. Technically they are very proficient especially their drummer who is good if a bit messy in his technique. Little interaction with us though , a couple of band clichés “ Great to be here, Newcastle” ,” last time we played only a handful turned up this is overwhelming etc. etc.”) but no banter.
I like banter, I liked it from Mike Finney ( front man of The Distractions) and I continue to like it from David Gedge of The Wedding Present. It makes a difference and makes the audience part of the performance and feel valued and like it was worth it to make the effort to buy the tickets months in advance and come out to see the band. Otherwise you might as well go and stand in a darkened room playing the CD loudly.
