Day Two, Gig Two: Adem @ The Zodiac
Adem
Two gigs down, two to go. Tonight I was downstairs at the Zodiac to see Adem, whom I've seen once before back in November last year. On that occasion we were treated to a preview of a number of songs from the then-forthcoming album, and I've been looking forward to a chance to hear those songs live again after having had the benefit of being able to listen to the album a few times to get familiar with them.
Another difference is that, whereas November's gig was a solo affair, tonight Adem had a full four-person band behind him, featuring (at various times) drums, cello, violins, xylophone, vibraphone, harmonium, guitar, and a whole cornucopia of bells and suchlike. The extra texture did a lot for songs like 'These Are Your Friends' (one of my favourites), and 'Love And Other Planets' was really impressive too. Another standout song was 'Let It Burn', a b-side which had grabbed my attention before but which was absolute spellbinding live.
For 'Spirals', one of the more delicate songs on the new album, Adem stood in front of the stage and played and sang with any amplification - the audience was virtually silent, except for the clumsy few who thought now was a good time to accidentally kick over a discarded plastic pintglass. For the last few songs, the rest of the band joined in with the unplugged session, with the closing rendition of 'There Will Always Be' being one of the warmest performances I've seen all year.