Goldfrapp
This has been quite a week for live music, and has meant making some difficult choices. On Wednesday the options included both the Goldfrapp gig at Cecil Sharp House and Africa Express at Koko. Fortunately, The Barbican put on an show (essentially Africa Express without the white boys) the following night, so I was able to see Goldfrapp without feeling like I was missing out. Of course I would have to miss The Streets, but Clare and Adrienne (from the Culture Show team) were already going to the gig, so it felt just about tolerable. We had Goldfrapp on the Culture Show during the last series, and you can still watch Eat Yourself and Monster Love on the site, but the Electric Proms session promised to be on a larger scale, with 13 string musicians from the of London taking part.
The stage was dressed with sheaves of grain and Alison Goldfrapp's microphone stand was wrapped in ribbons like a maypole. Goldfrapp had apparently requested the intimate space because of its folk associations, and the theatrical touches extended to the costumes, with the NSO appearing barefoot in cream Morris dancer outfits (without the ribbons or bells) and the chorus wearing rather spooky masks, evocative of pagan England. Alison was as stunning as ever, also barefoot, in a black harlequin suit. Honestly, that woman could look great in a sack (a silky sack with pom poms in this case).
Sarah Prag (from Ö÷²¥´óÐã Music) sent from the show (seems very naughty that her phone wasn't off, but I'm sure her calls were on divert) and she relays impressions from the concert as it happens. I was entranced, both by the old and new material, and completely blown away by Alison's voice. Moments that particularly made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck were the staggeringly beautiful Utopia, Cologne Cerrone Houdini and the mesmerising You Never Know (faultless once it got started). It's difficult to pick songs though, because the whole thing was magical. The venue is tiny and the audience were sitting on rows of the sorts of chairs that you get in a meeting hall, and Alison seemed a bit freaked out that we were all sitting there like dummies - necessary because of how the show was being filmed. I was perfectly happy, because I'm on the lazy side, but Alison kept saying how weird it felt, and at one point said that this was "The most intense thing we've ever done", although I'm sure this was as much to do with playing such an intimate acoustic set as with our immobility.
A radio broadcast of highlights is currently on iPlayer, from Gideon Coe's 6 Music show, together with an interview with Will and Alison: the interview is at 41:30 and Eat Yourself is at 1 hour 20 mins, followed by Caravan Girl. Tonight at 10pm, however, you'll be able to see the whole show on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Four- don't miss it.
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