REVIEW: THE NAKED AND FAMOUS AT BRISTOL ANSON ROOMS (09/11/11)
It is hard to tell how intentional a lot of what happened here was. One would hope Bristol earned its title as the host of the opening night of tour considering the name ‘Naked and Famous’ was plucked from the depths of a song by one of it’s most renowned artists, Tricky. Either way, we were happy to see them. Some fans were no doubt disappointed that the increasingly remixed and blogged support Alex Winston had pulled out, but Post War Years relished in their new found heights and set the crowd up for an energised night.
Naked and Famous arrived on stag, barely introduced themselves before launching into their first song. In between providing some percussion, lead vocalist Alisa Xayalith couldn’t help but jump around, which the audience were more than happy to reciprocate. What happened next could either attribute to the venue’s poor energy supply, the band’s poor equipment or an incredibly surreal conceptual rendition of ‘The Ends’, because the room went pitch black.
To give credit where its due the band tried to carry on strumming and singing before starting to realise that being able to see their instruments was one of the key factors in their ability to play their instruments. Being stood next to what looked like a room full of plugs allowed me to conclude that 90% of the crew didn’t know what had gone wrong and those that did, were lacking the urgency a live show requires. The lights came back on to the biggest cheer of the night and N&F ran back on and wasted no more time starting back with ‘The Ends’ again and barely stopping until their encore which ended with a near deafening bassline and a graciousness for the crowds patience and subsequent support.
The performance at times was a little lacklustre, and ironically relied on the lighting for impact. Alisa did an incredible job of embodying the atmosphere their often their high tempo songs breed. From the back of the hall, or if I wasn’t wearing my glasses, it could have just as easily been Crystal Castles on an off day. The aesthetic hallmarks were present: the intricate and often strobing lights combined with a female lead with strong stage presence was let down only by the aforementioned anti climatic arrangements. Maybe they know what they’re aiming for and its still a work in progress, it would be hard to deny Crystal Castles as an influence as the bassist was draped in an iconic CC t-shirt.
So whether or not they meant to pay such an homage, allowing such close comparison to be made between themselves and an act with the following that Crystal Castles has earned didn’t shine too kindly on Naked and Famous, And if it was unintentional? Well, given some time and many more shows they’ll no doubt find the impact they lacked tonight and step out of everybody’s shadow.
Words and photo: Laura Palmer
