Alt-J - Stiff Kitten, Belfast
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Alt-J
The Stiff Kitten, Belfast
Friday 25th May 2012
With a debut album that has been thoroughly well received and the ambition of "...making consistent, interesting live performances that involve the audience", it would be fair to say that tonight's gig in The Stiff Kitten carries with it a significant degree of expectation for Cambridge-based art-rock quartet . At least, it's fair to say until we witness the depressingly dismal turnout this sweltering Friday evening, at which point such expectations appear unrealistic.
Thirty people? Really? For a band whose debut album has been described by Ö÷²¥´óÐã's Jen Long as "...the perfect accompaniment, to any mood, any moment, anywhere", whose musicianship has been gushed about as "...jaw-droppingly different from the norm"? Good weather and an abundance of options for punters this Friday night can only account for so much - there should be more people here, and it's a frustrating development that regrettably sets the tone for the band's performance.
Big audience or not, the crowd that have turned up do at least appear enthused about the band's eventual arrival on stage and, for the most part, they are rewarded with fairly faithful renditions from the band's new album, An Awesome Wave. Opener 'Intro' and the subsequent 'Tessellate' are as intricate and layered as they are on record, but vocalist Joe Newman is barely audible. Not having your vocals turned up loud enough is a relatively common criticism of live bands, but for an act like Alt-J whose sound revolves around the off-beat yelps of Newman, this borders on the unforgiveable in a live setting.
What definitely is unforgiveable is managing to nullify one of your best songs entirely, as is the case with album highlight 'Something Good' - a skittering, warming folk number that tonight loses all subtlety as the band lay on the bass guitar thick and the nuanced acoustic guitar is all but stripped away.
One moment that the otherwise reserved crowd can get behind however is the thumping 'Breezeblocks', which really does grab everyone's attention from start to finish. Drummer Thom Green (whose solid stick weaving is brilliant all night) does a great job of getting heads bobbing and feet tapping, as he does on the jaunty 'Fitzpleasure'. Indeed it is the band's more direct tunes that are better represented tonight, it's just a shame that numbers like the yearning 'Matilda' are all but ineffective live.
There are aspects of tonight's gig - a lack of atmosphere, and at times reluctant crowd - that are beyond Alt- J's control. But the overwhelming feeling left after tonight is that one of the most exciting new acts around have done little to win any new fans or get their sound across in a way that would justify the hype that they find coming their way. It is a frustratingly average performance from a band who are anything but.
Andrew Lemon
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