Twenty Below Music: Live Reviews Oct-Dec '24
Ok, so this is our last gig round-up of the year. We had a lot of fun along the way but now need to sleep before doing it all again when January rolls around. In stats, between us, we saw 122 shows across 44 different venues. As always, thank you to all the incredible labels, publishers and artists for the invites. As a supervisor it is important to be a sponge and constantly absorb and discover as much new music as possible as you never know what your next job will require. It’s also super helpful to build a picture of an artists audience, their age, how they dress, what songs they react to etc so going to gigs is a big part of that.
LUKE> I must admit Fontaines D.C. hadn’t really been on my radar until this current record. I had wrongly bracketed them in with the slew of post punk bands of the past five years and not had a deeper dive. I now admit I was wrong with Romance my most played album of the year. The artwork, styling, videos and overall aesthetic for this record seemingly deterred some older fans while equally attracting new ones like myself. I mean they do look like a 1999 nu-metal band now but personally I dig it. I feel like I timed my entering as a fan perfectly too with this Hollywood Palladium show a rare moment when a band are at the peak of their creative powers with everything working harmoniously. They fully cast a spell over the audience, in parts gothic 80s indie in others Nirvana or Deftones, and then there’s the older tunes with that disposable but charming Ramones feel. Bring on Finsbury Park next summer.
IMOGEN> I’m one of many to have become completely infatuated with Fontaines D.C. this year - I’ve had “Starburster” and “Favourite” on repeat. So I was actually giddy in the run up to the show, particularly having heard Luke’s review of them in LA. You could feel the pent up energy of the crowd as we all piled into Alexandra Palace. Something about the mood and aesthetic they’ve created is infectious. Beginning the show with the album title track “Romance”, the atmosphere was set and the electricity built, and then BAM the curtain drops. It was all so visually and sonically dramatic and thrilling, and that energy didn’t relent. The setlist was bang on. It’s exciting to see a band so completely in their prime, and I cannot wait for their next move.
LUKE> Obongjayar hosted a series of shows in the intimate surrounds of the Ormside Projects with each night featuring different guest collaborators. The tiny room on a south London industrial estate was dripping with sweat and at fever pitch when we arrived just five minutes before he took to the stage. Dressed in a sharp velvet suit and backed by his incredibly tight band, the audience sung back every word. Even the sleek current single ‘Just My Luck’ got a heroes welcome as if it was an old favourite. Things stepped up a gear with the introduction of Pa Salieu and then further peaked as Little Simz, hidden under a cap, made her way through the crowd to the stage for what felt like a lap of honour after the year she’s had.
IMOGEN> Another band who have completely nailed 2024 are Australian punk act Amyl & The Sniffers, and I got to see their Roundhouse show. To be honest, I like the music, but my desire to see them was mainly about witnessing magnetic frontwoman Amy Turner’s performance. I wanted to be in the presence of she who wrote “Jerkin” (honestly listen to the lyrics it’s a masterpiece). And she seriously did not disappoint, literally climbing all over the stage and owning it in her tiny leather hot pants. She is fierce as hell, and also quite simply hilarious - I had not a clue what she was shouting about in between songs but it was highly entertaining. The whole show was brash and confident and actually really empowering. I even got in the mosh pit - for about 5 seconds - but that’s not happened in a while.
LUKE> I first came across Faux Real when I saw a clip of them performing in a car park at The Great Escape and was instantly keen. It was kind of Eurovision meets Cirque de Soleil with synchronised dance moves executed to pristine electronic pop. I have to say this Forum gig was probably the most fun I’ve had at a show all year and I can’t say I’ve ever seen a support act win over a crowd so hard. By the end the audience were holding the duo aloft like returning sports champions. How can I even describe them? The Blood Brothers covering The Pet Shop Boys? There’s some ballet in there too, oh and the songs are hooky af. A must see live act.
IMOGEN> Mk.gee’s moment has been brewing for a while, but the release of his album “Two Star & The Dream Police” this year has undoubtedly been it. It’s been hard to avoid the buzz around him. Hailed by Eric Clapton no less as the brightest guitarist around, he has a pretty unique sound - an r&b and 80s flavour with some mad crunchy production and textures, twitchy guitar parts, and his smoky raspy voice weaving in and out of it all. It’s kind of a beautiful mess, and wow did it come into its own live. You feel completely amongst it. And the lighting really added to things - silhouetted by just a triangle of red, and then the room would explode white on certain stabs in a flash. It was moody as hell, and confirmed to me that Mk.gee is absolutely more than worthy of the hype.
LUKE> Another duo who have crept up on me over time and now reached their apex is Magdalena Bay with their concept album ‘Imaginal Disk’ featuring in many best of 2024 lists. This show originally scheduled to be at Heaven got upgraded twice such has been the rise of the band eventually landing on a three night stand at Outernet. They play the album in full, back to front, incorporating moments of city pop, rnb, hyper pop and maybe most surprisingly prog with the costumes bringing to mind Gabriel era Genesis. Essentially it’s one tasty soup of things I like and in ‘Image’ they nailed my single of the year. When the bass blows out for that final chorus, oof! I can’t get enough.
IMOGEN> Canadian singer songwriter Leif Vollebekk has my whole heart with everything he makes, and I refuse to shut up about him. His show at Shepherd’s Bush was a massive highlight of the year. You can hear influence in his music by some of the greats such as Jeff Buckley and Van Morrison, with his latest album “Revelations” leaning a little more cinematic and really lending itself to live. It was self-produced and he plays pretty much every instrument on it, some of the tracks recorded in one take. True to form, during the show he moved between guitar, pedal steel, piano, Moog, accordion - and the sound he gets out of each one is pure feeling. You can literally see it on him, and you could hear a pin drop in the crowd throughout - apart from my friend Max who couldn’t help but gasp “oh f**k” at every one of his delicious guitar solos. It was perfect.
LUKE> Being born to Iranian and Austrian parents and growing up in California sure makes for some interesting pop music and Sofie Royer is the proof. Having been initially hired as an intern at iconic L.A. label ’Stones Throw’ she eventually signed a deal with them to put out her music and album by album has slowly become a low-key indie star. This years ‘Young-Girl Forever’ sees her further expand on her Euro disco leaning pop to potential club floor fillers (I Forget I’m So Young). Previously touring solo she was this time backed by a full band and able to fully realise her sound while still adding her trademark violin lines (and awesome cute dance routines). For the keen Omeara crowd she feels something of a well kept secret but it surely won’t be long before she graces much bigger stages.
