29.05.2017 Erasure @ The Roundhouse, London

Support act: Isgar

Three-piece opener ‘Isgar’ are a somewhat unusual choice for a support act until you realise that their synth-man is also working for Erasure.


While singer Beth’s voice is hugely impressive and their songs are emotionally deep (how refreshing) their short set didn’t really allow me to get into their music, mainly because there is ‘sparse’ and then there is ‘too empty’ as far as the overall sound was concerned. Enjoyable nonetheless. 


The Roundhouse is an iconic venue and with Erasure being an iconic band – this evening was epic.

Before embarking on a stadium tour as support act to Robbie Williams, Erasure played three gigs in support of their new album ‘World be gone’, which peaked at #6 in the UK charts and deservedly so.

The mostly downbeat, reflective and thought-provoking album is in many ways an unusual album in the high energy catalogue of the band’s work but it captures Erasure at their best.

The stage is simple and the lighting very effective and from the word ‘go’ Andy & Vince, supported by their ever present and ever wonderful backing vocalists Val & Emma own the night.

The chemistry of the band was amazing to witness and the setlist was super impressive as it featured many of their massive hits as well as less often performed gems such as ‘Here I go impossible again’ off their 2005 album Nightbird or the underrated, totally beautiful ‘In my arms’.

They played 9 out of 10 songs from ‘world be gone’ and the new material fitted in nicely with the rest, which in itself shows just how amazing Erasure’s songwriting skills are.

Erasure love their fans and the fans love them and this unbreakable bond between the perhaps most charismatic synth pop band of all times and their followers was felt during their performance.

The sound was crystal clear and Andy’s voice spot on throughout and the normally quite reserved synthesizer legend Vince Clarke smiled a lot and just to watch them live was mesmerizing. 


















Comments

Unknown said…
Absolutely spot on review! Was a fantastic night x
June 2, 2017 at 3:06 AM
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