Kafka On The Shore

Loney, Dear @ Union Chapel, London, 10 Sep 09

When I come out of a live gig, my first thought is pretty much to compare the live renditions with the recordings. Grizzly Bear, for instance, sound as sleek, multi-layered and sophisticated on stage as they do on their albums, Deerhunter, well, not so much…Loney, Dear? So so, so much better. Simply put, there is not one song from his live set that didn’t sound ten times as good as their studio versions (big credit to his accompanying band, particularly his back-up singer and his drummer). So much so, that it’s now rather frustrating going back to the Dear John album and not being able to feel it the same way I did two nights ago.

Two highlights of the show: “Under A Silent Sea“ for its rich instrumentation and electro effects, and “The Meter Marks OK” for the goosebump inducing audience participation (there were some seriously good singers among us…I, for one, was wise enough to keep my mouth shut).