The layered
synths of the intro track, along with the soft colours bathing the stage in
light swirl up to their breaking point
before cutting out completely as Silas
Utke Graae Jørgensen begins the
pounding drum beat to opening tune ‘Witness’, accompanied solely by the
flashing white strobe, his band mates yet to enter the stage. This moment of
raw energy bursting forth is invigorating and exciting, and perhaps best
explained within the context of the whole night…
Titled ‘An Evening With Mew’ this has the air of a slightly out of the
ordinary show. Things start familiarly enough with the supremely talented
Rosborough, a singer-songwriter from Derry in Northern Ireland who peppers his
support set with emotionally charged ditties complete with loop-pedal wizardry
and vocal acrobatics. After receiving a really warm reception from the crowd he
leaves the stage, ready to host Mew for their first set of the evening, a short
acoustic segment revisiting old rarities.
An act performing two different sets on one night is fairly unusual, but
not unheard of. It is the low-key nature of Mew’s first appearance that gives
the night its pleasant close and communal vibe. A further aide to this is bassist
Johan Wohlert’s endearingly awkward stage chat (showing that even rockstars can
find it tricky to chat to a room full of 500 people sometimes…). This intimate
and cosy vibe is not lost on the band who chat playfully amongst themselves and
Wohlert’s jokes that “when your management calls you up and asks if you want to
open for Mew you just don’t say no!” in reference to the slightly surreal
set-up.
 |
The song selection of the acoustic part of the show is made up of welcome rare cuts and well-constructed reinterpretations of newer tracks. A highlight from most recent album, ‘+-‘, ‘Waterslides’ goes down well but the biggest cheers are reserved for the likes of ‘Frengers’ tunes ‘Symmetry’ and ‘Beyond the Drapes’, ‘Why are You Looking Grave?’ from ‘Mew….And the Glass Handed Kites’ and early B-side ‘That Time on the Ledge’. This stripped back segment does a good job of showing off the band’s songwriting talent removed from the more sonically experimental recordings we are used to, as well as the rockier elements their music often entails.
Returning to the main set of the night, the band members join their stranded drummer stage one by one and complete rousing renditions of an opening four-punch (all running musically straight into each other) of ‘Witness’, ‘Satellites’, ‘Special’ and ‘The Zookeepers Boy’. The sheer power of these tracks live is emphasised ten-fold compared to the record, and provides a fantastic and electrifying contrast to the chilled feel of the music up to this point. Following this is a slight climb-down in intensity after the breathless opening, as the band perform ‘Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy’ from the impeccably named album ‘No more stories are told today I’m sorry They washed away no more stories The world is grey I’m tired Let’s wash away”.
Returning to the main set of the night, the band members join their stranded drummer stage one by one and complete rousing renditions of an opening four-punch (all running musically straight into each other) of ‘Witness’, ‘Satellites’, ‘Special’ and ‘The Zookeepers Boy’. The sheer power of these tracks live is emphasised ten-fold compared to the record, and provides a fantastic and electrifying contrast to the chilled feel of the music up to this point. Following this is a slight climb-down in intensity after the breathless opening, as the band perform ‘Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy’ from the impeccably named album ‘No more stories are told today I’m sorry They washed away no more stories The world is grey I’m tired Let’s wash away”.
After this the energy-levels are ratcheted back up for the double of ‘Frengers’
standouts ‘Snow Brigade’ and ‘She Spider’. The former provides the highest and most
animated pogoing of the night, and possibly the loudest shouting along of the
anthemic chorus.
Then momentarily we’re back in chill-land as lead singer
Jonas Bjerre performs a medley, accompanied only by piano, of ‘Clinging to a
Bad Dream’, ‘The Zookeepers Boy’ and ‘Louise Louisa’. After this we get ‘+-‘ tunes ‘Making Friends’
and the epic ‘Rows’, the latter potentially using the projected imagery on the
screens behind to best effect. Throughout the show this has been by turns
showing beautiful land- and star-scapes and eerie and twisted version of the
members of the band. For the outro to ‘Rows’ we see the band in monkey form disconcertingly
singing along with the real life members.
It’s almost the end of the main set, but not before two
crowd favourites- the imperious ‘Am I Wry? No’ and haunting ‘156’ which both go
down an absolute treat sending the already hyped audience into raptures.
The band leaves the stage to wild applause, and makes the
crowd wait briefly before the inevitable encore. But what an encore. The
beautiful and pop-inspired early single ‘She Came Home For Christmas’ is first
up, prompting yet another huge sing-along.
Then there is just the final tune, and everyone knows what it’s going to
be, the euphoric and cinematic behemoth that is ‘Comforting Sounds’. This song
is even more powerful in person than on record, and I can’t think of many
better live full stops than the perennial set-closer taken form perhaps their
most beloved album ‘Frengers’. An apt ending to a fantastic show that really
delivers for the fanatical following the band has built up over the years, and
also impressive for those who haven’t experienced the Mew live machine before.