03/03/09
Poor old Elbow. The arbiters of musical taste have kept them waiting. It took five albums and eighteen years to achieve the mainstream success they surely deserved from the start, a Mercury Music Prize the reward for last year’s tour de force, Seldom Seen Kid. The Best Band gong at the Brits that followed a fortnight ago truly propelled them into the limelight. However, you get the impression that Elbow are happiest onstage, doing what they do best, sending delirious punters into sensual overdrive with their smooth melodies and intricate arrangements. As lead-singer Guy Garvey testifies: “the Brits were good- but it wasn’t our sort of party.”
If one thing’s for sure, a cold, wet night in the Steel City most certainly is their kind of party. Elbow’s arrival onstage is heralded by the tumultuous trumpets of SSK opener Starlings, and followed by more of their recent award-winning material. One of the biggest cheers of the night is reserved for the arrival of Sheffield legend Richard Hawley’s, who collaborated with Garvey on The Fix. However, the Sheffield crowd (most of whom are old enough to remember Hawley’s heyday) are truly sent into raptures by SSK standout tracks Grounds for Divorce and Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver- the soaring vocals of the latter track truly send a tingle down your spine when heard live.
As any listener to Garvey’s 6Music radio show will know, his patter is good. You would not get an informal Q&A session in the middle of many gigs but Garvey’s easy charm pulls it off (he answers “what’s in the mug?” with “the elixir of eternal life- it doesn’t seem to be working”). After ending with the wonderful One Day Like This, Elbow are invited back for more, Garvey’s falsetto delivering with style in Weather to Fly before pleasing the hardcore fans with beautiful older track Newborn.
Not your average rockers, members of Elbow come in various shapes and sizes, having incurred varying degrees of hair loss. However, like a good cheese they have matured over time and at last have achieved the commercial success to match their critical acclaim. Even if uncomfortable with their new position as a fixture in England’s musical elite, Elbow more than lived up to expectations with a live performance that proved to be a euphoric experience.
*****
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