Emmy The Great – live
@ The O2 Institute, Birmingham, 19/03/16
It’s taken me the best part of a week to put finger to key
and write this review. You see, I went to see Emmy the Great as a punter and a
(new) fan, rather than with the express intention of writing about it. I’ve
always been of the opinion that it’s better to write because you have something
to say, because you feel compelled to, rather than simply for the sake of it (I
believe the same applies to making music), so did I need to write a review of a
gig I enjoyed just because I have a music blog?
Here we are, almost a week later, and I’m still thinking
about the show and how Emmy played to a fairly small audience (I’d guess between
80 and 100 people, tops) in a relatively tiny room at the very top of the venue
while another band I’d never heard of were playing a sell-out gig in the main
room downstairs to what looked like thousands of teenage girls, and how those 80
to 100 people watching Emmy the Great remained fixed to the spot for the
duration of her performance, hanging on to every word, every note, and how that
same audience was also a little reserved but in a quietly reverent and politely
starstruck kinda way – and NOW I feel the need to write about it.
As seems to be the case with many of the artists I’m
enjoying at the moment, I was a little late to the Emmy the Great party. I’d always
been aware of her name, but her music had never really been on my radar (no
particular reason, but better late than never, right?). Then, having read a few
glowing reviews of latest album ‘Second Love’, I decided to explore some of her
work via YouTube and immediately realised what I’d missed out on. Said album
was duly purchased and subjected to repeated listens until I found myself singing
the lyrics to songs such as ‘Hyperlink’ and ‘Phoenixes’ in my head at random
points in the day.
Anyway, on to the gig. Emmy was fantastic, of course, as
were her band: all four people on stage completely in sync with each other. She
writes hypnotic, mesmerising songs which feel like layers are being peeled away
as they progress, revealing greater depth and detail to the listener. Much of
tonight’s set (quite understandably) draws from ‘Second Love’, although even a
newcomer like me (who’s done his research, natch) recognises older songs such
as ‘Dinosaur Sex’ and ‘Paper Forest’ (the latter closing the encore).
Her between-song banter is delightfully surreal, ranging
from anecdotes about Lord Elgin (Google him), how weird it is that River
Phoenix never owned an iPhone (before ‘Phoenixes’, of course, and just after
she moves a pot plant decorating the stage to cover up the glowing Apple logo
on a laptop) and inviting the audience to join her on a mission to ‘repopulate’
Mars – she later asks: “You’re all still thinking about repopulating Mars,
right?” and when questioned on why she said ‘repopulate’ instead of ‘populate’,
replies cryptically: “I guess I know something you don’t.”
As part of her encore, she invites singer Grace Petrie (also
there as a punter) onstage to perform one of her own protest songs (the
brilliant, Billy Bragg-esque ‘Farewell to Welfare’) while Emmy perches on the
crowd barrier and watches: the ‘no crowd surfing’ signs on the walls may not
have been necessary on this occasion, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an air
of unpredictability about tonight’s proceedings.
It certainly won’t be the biggest audience she’ll play to on
this tour, but as we all know, the best gigs are often also the most intimate.
The kids downstairs in the main room who queued round the block for hours can
keep their sell-out show because I know where I’d rather have been.
Next stop, Mars.
