Ok so I almost didn’t make it to the show last night. Geri couldn’t get coverage at the Tate Modern and my friend who was supposed to come bailed at the very last minute because he started moaning about getting home too late, so I said, ‘oh fuck it’, and decided to go on my lonesome to see Robyn at Bush Hall because well, I really wanted to. So armed with two extra tickets and no date (poo hoo), I made my way to my old stomping ground Shepherds Bush to check out Robyn’s live show again.
Robyn’s bandmate buddy Kleerup opened for her and I only caught the last 5 minutes of his what seemed to be a DJ set, but from what I heard it was very cool. I can imagine that this man is going to be working for quite awhile in the electronic idoymn as he has got some killer laptop skills – I think I might have to check out some of his solo stuff because I am quite curious about his sound now and if I’m curious, I’m sure some other EQ readers might be as well.
So Robyn, yeah – she was amazing as usual. Her setlist hasn’t changed all that much from her shows at Cargo or Dingwalls but everytime I’ve seen her show I always take away something new that I hadn’t before. For example, I’d never really paid too much attention to ‘Keep This Fire Burning’ before, in which Robyn explained to the crowd that it was a song she wrote that Beverly Knight had actually recorded. This was a standout song last night – don’t know why, but I really was getting into it and enjoyed it immensely.
Robyn was noticeably more chatty last night on stage too. This is something I really love and it’s the sole reason I love going to live shows. Sure it’s nice to see the artists sing and dance around, but it’s the chatter in between songs that really makes a good and unique concert going experience for moi. Before Robyn sang ‘Handle Me’ (her new single) she told us that the song was about all those guys who think they are the shit, but really aren’t. LOVE IT. Some other fun quips were ‘You know if you guys keep coming to my shows I might get to release another single – and this could be one of em’ – this came right before ‘Be Mine’. A song which in my opinion stands a fighting chance at being another UK Number One for our powerhouse princess.
One would also expect a long diatribe right before launching into the single that defined them as their first UK Number One selling artist, but Robyn didn’t. She went right into ‘With Every Heartbeat’ without drawing attention to that aforementioned – but from the second the synth started flowing into the sweaty humid air – the crowd went wild. I got goosebumps. It was such a treat to watch her perform this song this time round. You could tell that she was proud of that moment – and very well she should have been proud.
So in the end – I’m glad I went. I’d been a daft fool not to go – Robyn shows are SO worth it and I can’t wait to see Robyn’s career get bigger and bigger as time goes on – it’s a treat to watch a hard working musician go from strength to strength for all of their hard work.
Note: Bush Hall was the sweatiest gig I’ve ever been to EVER for any artist… No air con. No fans. No noticable ventilation. But a little sweat never hurt anyone right?