I don't have much to say for this post really, but I just thought I'd share my weekends photos with you again. Might as well keep it consistent. The weather wasn't ideal this weekend, in fact it was far from being so - wet, windy and very cold. However the sun did break through on Sunday evening and I braved the bitter winds to take some more photos of the sunset on the seafront. The clouds from the earlier rain gave the images more depth and provided a beautiful array of colours.
I don't even know where to begin with this post, there is so much I want to talk about but I'm not entirely sure there are enough words to fully express everything - apologies in advance if this ends up being a little long. In short, Ben Howard was phenomenal.
You know when you wait so long for something and your intense excitement is met somewhat with a bitter disappointment as it is never quite what you thought it would be? This was nothing like that at all. After spending a day on trains to get from uni to home and home to Bristol, I couldn't have been more ready for the gig to start once we were inside the Academy. However, what greeted us was not the welcoming sound of the support act but one and a half hours of standing, in a crowd of increasingly irritated (and irritating) people. The support act - Daughter - finally made an appearance on stage, among the applause however were a few annoyed comments, people were impatient and just wanted Ben Howard. Confident in my knowledge that Daughter are in fact amazing, I listened as her voice filled the room and captivated everyone within minutes.
Daughter - Live at O2 Academy Bristol - 29th Feb 2012
Landfill by Daughter, is just one of the many beautiful tracks performed by the supporting act that evening. It was their last night on tour with Ben Howard and that fact fueled every second of their performance. Personally, I don't think there could have been a better choice in artist to introduce Ben Howard.
And now on to Ben. I don't want to ramble on for too long as I feel the music speaks for itself, and any of you who listen to Ben Howard already will know what I mean when describing his voice as perfect. Completely flawless he captivated the entire room from floor to balcony, never once losing the look of amazement on his face at the full to capacity audience. Playing a set list mostly from his album Every Kingdom, mixed with a new track or two, each song brought with it the most amazing atmosphere. That's one thing I love about gigs, that unity you get when everyone is so completely in awe at the same thing. People elbowing you in the back and young girls screaming tunelessly and out of time doesn't matter so much when you're lost in something that atmospheric. Here are a few videos and photos from the gig;
Ben Howard - Live at O2 Academy, Bristol. 29th Feb 2012
Ben Howard - The Wolves A long video but definitely worth watching until the end, the instrumental section and the crowd singing back to Ben in chorus is spine tingling.
Ben Howard - Gracious I am going to force myself to stop posting about Ben Howard now or else I feel like I never will. In all - in case you didn't guess - the whole evening was spectacular. Despite the frantic 15 minute run from the venue to the station to catch the train after they ran over. It was worth every second of waiting and I hope to see him, and Daughter again in the near future.
One last thing, for any of you who don't already own it (you're insane for not already doing so) you need to buy Ben Howard - Every Kingdom. It will not disappoint.
