Thursday, Oct 2, the UK band, Noah And The Whale, played their first show in San Francisco. Actually, their first show of the evening was at Amoeba Records. For their first proper show, Noah And The Whale waded through the packed audience to make their way to the stage. Still wearing their Amoeba stickers, Noah And The Whale immediately filled Popscene with their chamber pop sound.
With their instrumentation, the four piece sounds more lush than the average indie rock band. Drummer Doug Fink supports the songs perfectly, knowing when to pound and when to let the rest of the band play unaccompanied. Bassist Matt Urby adds a richness to the songs by choosing to play subharmonics. Tom Hobden, the fiddle player, adds both an orchestral and folky quality. Urby and Hobden also trade off on the harmonium, deepening the shimmering symphonic sound of the band with its pumped vibrations. The baritone of lead singer Charlie Fink grounds the band with a sense of realism and solemnness.
Their 45-minute set primarily consisted of the songs from their recently released full-length debut, Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down. On “Mary,” “Rocks And Daggers,” and “Shape Of My Heart,” the audience sang along and bobbed to the pop song that had only been released in the US a few weeks ago. Lindi Ortega, the opener, joined Noah And The Whale for one of the highlights of the evening. Charlie Fink picked up his ukulele and began strumming the opening lines of “5 Years Time.” The crowd clapped along to this infectious song. Leaving Popscene, some people were still singing its melody. Hopefully this will be enough to hold the audience over until Noah And The Whale returns in December, as Charlie Fink announced at the end of the set.
The opening set by Lindi Ortega was a little lackluster. The Toronto musician forgot her drum machine and played a solo set accompanied only by her acoustic guitar. While her voice is strong and her delivery and command is good, her short set did not provide any memorable songs. With two covers, including Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire,” her set was cutesy but not substantive. The set would have been more enjoyable with a full band backing her. Nonetheless, she demonstrated she has musical talent, but not the best material.
Download Noah And The Whale's “2 Bodies 1 Heart” (mp3)
www.noahandthewhale.com
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