Tunng + Six Organs of Separation + Lightning Dust @ Birmingham Town Hall – 2nd December 2009
Critically reviewing a birthday party seems a bit off, but that’s essentially what I’m about to do here. At heart this evening wasn’t so much about the bands on stage, but the history behind how they came to be put up there.
Capsule are celebrating their 10th birthday this month with a residency at VIVID and a programme that shows the breadth of activities that falls under the curatorial gaze of founders Lisa and Jenny.
This gig, at the Town Hall showed Capsule flexing their folk muscles and putting on their more acceptable face – that is to say that there was none of the screaming, distorted noise and swinging from the rafters that you occasionally see at their gigs (although all these things were present and correct the night before).
As I took my seat Lightning Dust were settling into their set. Capsule tend to like their folk acts to be a combination of dark, gutsy and experimental. These had a confident and brooding presence, although their sound occasionally fell short of filling the venue.
Six Organs of Admittance entered the stage to a few loud cheers and, when they died away, replaced them with guitar-driven folk from the opposite end of the spectrum. It was still beautiful and, in the more extended sections, also quite soothing. I wasn’t timing their set but it felt short – maybe it’s just that I wanted to hear more.
Tunng were greeted excitably and, in return, delivered a set that flirted with experimentalism as much as it did with populism – enough to be interesting, not so much as to be indulgent or obvious. We were even given a blast of a song from the forthcoming album – no great departure, which is no bad thing. Tunng provide folk with a swagger and smile and sealed a quality night of music.
As I said at the top of this review – this was Capsule’s party. Good as they were, the most memorable part of the evening came shortly before Tunng took the stage – a very funny video interview with Lisa and Jenny that took in men with beards, cupcakes, Julian Cope’s bad behaviour, dogs wearing clothes, bin Laden and God. Happy birthday Capsule.
Review – Chris Unitt