Domingo 11 Mar 2007, 8:12
On Tuesday we went to our second Pure Reason Revolution gig of the year, this time at The Loft in Cambridge.
The drive over was uneventful, and we parked up and made our way to The Graduate pub (The Loft is the upstairs part). As we got there we realised we'd been there before - ten or eleven years ago, for a Snowplains meet - but it'd been quite drastically refurbished since then. We saw Chloe from PRR sitting in a corner as we walked in, shortly joined by Jon, but didn't bother them while they were having some peace before the gig. Besides, we're shy!
Things were running a little late while the bands were sound-checking, but eventually we were allowed into the upstairs bit, and found it was a long gallery with a bar on one side and windows looking down into the pub on the other, opening out into a wider room and stage at the far end. It was a tiny place - the smallest gig venue I think I've been to. We grabbed a seat at the edge of the main area, but didn't have long to wait.
The first band of the evening was wave67 (myspace), a guitar / bass / drums trio with with lots of added loops and samples and distortion played a kind of rock / big beat hybrid. Lots of big heavy grooves mostly driven by the drums. There was a definite Death In Vegas influence. Some of their songs would've been more interesting if there was a bit more of a sense of dynamics, but I enjoyed their set - especially the more driving tracks like (iirc) "NSA".
The second support was Forever Like Red (myspace) who were a more straight-forward rock band, albeit with a fairly emotional and alternative edge. They played well, the songs seemed to be well-written, and the vocals were good - but somehow it just didn't really engage me. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood for it. I did like their last song, which had quite a Jeff Buckley influence to it, and they let their reserve go and just went for it.
We had quite a wait before PRR came on - the band were ready, but there seemed to be some problem with the mic for one of the drums or something. At one point I turned around and found Jamie from PRR was stood behind me - I blinked, he said "hi!", I said "hi!", and we got talking for a bit. He told me a bit about the tour they've just done with Blackfield, and their plans for the next few months. I'm usually too shy to go and talk to bands, but he seemed nice and friendly, so that was pretty cool :)
At last the lights went down and Pure Reason Revolution (myspace) took to the stage, kicking off with "In Aurélia". Right away it was obvious that the sound mix was much better than at The Mean Fiddler, which was a relief! it was all much clearer, especially the vocals. We were close to the front too, so we had a great view, especially of Jamie and Chloe - it was cool to be able to see what Jamie was doing, because so much of it is details and layers of treated guitar that I couldn't easily identify. We could even see the new drummer from time to time ;)
Probably the highlight of their set for me was "Bright Ambassadors" - it was the best I've heard them play it, I think, and I was completely absorbed in it. Wonderful. The new song "Victorious Cupid" sounded good on second listen, too - the better vocal mix helped a lot, though I've still no idea what they're singing! They finished their main set with a surprise by playing the upbeat electronic part of "Golden Clothes" - a big contrast following "Trembling Willows", with Jamie, Jon and Chloe all hunched over keyboards.
They trooped off stage through the crowd after that, as there's no backstage at The Loft - but were back pretty much right away as (as they said) "we didn't keep you in suspense for long - there's nowhere to hide!". Then they treated us to an encore of "The Intention Craft" with the full "Arrival" instrumental before it.
PRR's setlist:
In Aurélia
Borgens Vor
Apprentice of the Universe
The Bright Ambassadors of Morning
Victorious Cupid
Voices in Winter / In the Realms of the Divine
The Twyncyn / Trembling Willows
Golden Clothes (part of it)
It was a great gig - the band were in excellent form after all the touring around Europe with Blackfield, the sound was great, we had a great view, and it was a tiny venue. Can't wait for the next one - luckily that's on Sunday!