Nouvelle Vague - Monday 4th Feb 08 Arts Centre
Meaning Bossa Nova in Portuguese and New Wave in English, French band Nouvelle Vague combine the two in a bizarre but very enjoyable way. The set list included well known tracks; Blue Monday, Blank Generation and Just Can’t Get Enough to name a few. My personal favourites were the beautifully covered A Forest and Making Plans For Nigel.
To begin with there was very little interaction between the singers and the band, and the dancing seemed rather forced, but by the third song they had warmed up. After a little research, it would seem that the band line-up changes quite frequently, using combinations of several different vocalists. Our singers for the evening were Phoebe Killdeer and Marianne Elise, who both have singing careers outside of the band. There was an interesting dynamic of contrasting personas, with Marianne being rather small and sweet, and Phoebe basing her whole stage presence on being weird.
All the musicians were very talented in their own right, each getting a chance at some point to really show what they were capable of, but the most impressive was the drummer. Though I am admittedly biased towards drummers, one who can provide the whole musical backing for a song with no other instruments gets extra respect.
The best song of the night had to be Love Will Tear Us Apart, which they built up and up, and got the crowd singing along to. It was one of those Great Gig Moments, though I’m sure they’ve realised this and do it at every gig. After two encores, one with another version of Love Will.., the crowd dispersed.
All in all, a very enjoyable evening. Not something I would have thought to go and see, and possibly not something I would go to again, but I’m glad I went this time.
To begin with there was very little interaction between the singers and the band, and the dancing seemed rather forced, but by the third song they had warmed up. After a little research, it would seem that the band line-up changes quite frequently, using combinations of several different vocalists. Our singers for the evening were Phoebe Killdeer and Marianne Elise, who both have singing careers outside of the band. There was an interesting dynamic of contrasting personas, with Marianne being rather small and sweet, and Phoebe basing her whole stage presence on being weird.
All the musicians were very talented in their own right, each getting a chance at some point to really show what they were capable of, but the most impressive was the drummer. Though I am admittedly biased towards drummers, one who can provide the whole musical backing for a song with no other instruments gets extra respect.
The best song of the night had to be Love Will Tear Us Apart, which they built up and up, and got the crowd singing along to. It was one of those Great Gig Moments, though I’m sure they’ve realised this and do it at every gig. After two encores, one with another version of Love Will.., the crowd dispersed.
All in all, a very enjoyable evening. Not something I would have thought to go and see, and possibly not something I would go to again, but I’m glad I went this time.