In my out of synch gig posting I thought I better get this one out quickly while it was fresh in my mind, though in all honesty I think it is a gig that will remain lodged in the rusting cage of a brain for a long time to come. I went along to see Nils Frahm supporting Balmorhea. It was a beautiful experience, curated by delightful people and one which I am eager to try and make words work about.
Really as anyone reading previous posts will know, I really went to see Nils play as I have major amounts of respect for him and hadn’t really heard of Balmorhea prior to this going along armed with a quick listen to what they had to offer on Myspace and the knowledge that they would be ‘alright.’ They were a little more than alright, but let us not jump the firearm, let us first concentrate on the lowly support act, the genius of Nils Frahm.
Firstly I must point out that the purpose of this blog is not to kiss anyones ass, to pander to the ego of people and place them on false platforms. I listen to a ton of music, the shite as much as the glory, but I choose only to mention what I find special and what touches me and I know I did Nils last week, but live is such a different experience than on record, so needs must.
I am back to talking about Esbjorn Svensson again, apologies for that, but after playing an expansive and dizzying 20 minute opening track he said in shy english, ‘sorry about that. Sometimes we get a little lost.’ This quote came back to me in effect last night as I sat and watched Nils playing in a dark basement in the arse end of Glasgow. There was no point while he was playing the keyboard that he seemed to be there, he was so deeply into what he was doing that he was sent by his music. I have to say that I followed him in, totally mesmerised by what I was witnessing. Snippets of his songs from the albums appeared, the main themes worked around and taken in different directions reflecting what an incredible talent and intimate knowledge of the keys he has. It is from watching people like this that I feel I begin to really understand how music works, however I hope I never find out, as it want to ever remain in awe of it all.
An hour of him playing passed in minutes leaving us all feeling like we had witnessed something very special. Though throughout was amazing, the highlight was a simple and delightful piece of showmanship. Halfway through a piece, from the crowd strode a stage invader who took the stool next to Nils and poked the occasional finger at the high notes, finding his place in the rhythm before unleashing one of the most enjoyable and spectacular performances I have bourne witness to. The duel flowed with an intricate 4/4 rhythm section from Nils, pumping and energetic, complimented by the wild and exciting treble notes of Rob Lowe from Balmorhea. You could see just how much they were getting from it, from the chance for each other to play with someone of such deep talent. I was genuinely buzzing after it. 2 guys on the piano producing a sound that had the rhythm of a club track propelled by the intricacy, love and knowledge of a master craftsman. I could listen to that every day for the rest of my life and still be smiling as hard as I was after last nights performance.
To be sat listening to Nils was to be in the presence of a rare and beautiful talent in the body of a humble, friendly man.
Balmorhea were a surprise to me. I knew by what I had heard and by the instruments laying on the stage that I was going to enjoy the performance, but I just wasnt ready for how much I was going to enjoy it.
There was a quiet studied atmosphere in the dungeon, everyone sat down to relax and soak in the performance and that was the perfect start for me. The music was beautiful, abstract and off kilter, but always coming together in the most beautiful and unexpected ways. As ever, click on the pictures of either artist and buy some stuff, really it is worth your while.
What I took from the performance however was not just he amazing song writing abilities, which I am mainlining on Myspace as we speak, but the way that they went about performing it. It was very apparent that Balmorhea love what they are doing and are immensely proud of making the music that they want to make. I know from being in bands in the past that if I suggested, ‘you know what, I would love to drop my instrument and just clap in this section,’ that it would be met with mass sneers of derision, but there is something incredibly liberating and brave about being able to create exactly the sounds that fulfill you and doing it in front of an audience just massively compounds that sentiment. They, like Nils were all sent at points, so involved in what they were doing that it didn’t matter to them who they were performing to or where they were performing it and that kind of attitude is not only deeply inspiring, but incredibly infectious. As they started I kind of wished we were all sitting in a park on the charming spring evening listening to this lovely music. By the end I didn’t care where I was, I was just happy to be.
For the encore, the ‘GOOD’ serious number, they finished by stepping into the crowd and unleashing a beautiful harmony while the drums and piano continued on stage, cementing the feeling that you were involved rather than just watching the performance.
I have a lot of half arsed projects on the go and am in constant need of inspiration and I extend my heartfelt thanks to Nils Frahm and Balmorhea for providing a massive shot of this for me and many other people.
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