Believe it or not I actually nearly give this show a miss, deluding myself that it would be too similar to the other four times I've seen them. I am fortunate that I have never seen a dull Godspeed performance, and tonight was no exception.
Support band Kepler open the proceedings, and although they don't grab the attention of the entire audience, I still thought they played a fine set. They fit broadly in the slow-core end of things, perhaps comparable to the likes of Low and the now deceased Bedhead, and on this showing they could be worth investigating.
Godspeed by contrast keep the audience gripped throughout this two-hour performance. The quiet bits are met with hushed reverence from the 2000 strong crowd, and I only hear someone being 'shushed' once.
Whilst their other projects (A Silver Mt Zion, Set Fire to Flames) have released albums recently, there has been no new material from Godspeed themselves since the 'Skinny Fists' double set eighteen months ago. That album makes up most of the performance tonight and they open with the hugely uplifting title track, the film on the backdrop flickering a single word "Hope". As this opening gives way to the first taste of new material - a piece which sounds perfectly at home with their earlier music - you’d be forgiven for thinking nothing had happened in Godspeed's world over the last 18 months. But something has, and it happened on the 11th September.
They are a band of few words, but their visuals and found-sound inserts speak volumes. The music is accompanied by more contemporary colour film this time, and it's surely not a coincidence that there a lot of movies of skyscrapers. Rumours abound that the new album, or at least a sizeable chunk of it, is to be called 'New York'. The half hour or so of unreleased music seems very tense, with minimal precussive guitars building up so you almost feel that the strings are going to snap.
When they leave the stage for the first encore, they play a cut-up tape of George W Bush punctuated with applause edited to sound like gunshots. (Contrary to what some of the crowd said afterwards, this wasn't Chris Morris's original 'Bushwhacked', but something much more abstract). They band don't need to say anything, the audience all seem to understand where they're coming from.
If we have to single out highlights then 'Sleep'/ 'Monheim' and 'World Police and Friendly Fire' are particularly remarkable, and the visuals of a single bush being blown by the wind during 'Gathering Storm' are eerily powerful.
After the customary crowd depleting encores, they leave us with a solitary piece of audience interaction as one drumkit is dissembled and passed out to itinerant members who wander this huge venue beating out the rhythm. After this extraordinary two hour show, it feels like Godspeed are keen not to be seen as preachers or commentators; they want us to take part as well. For some they may be enigmatic, for others (myself included) they are inspirational.
GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR! + TOWN AND COUNTRY
London King's Cross Scala 2ist November 2000
While the word on the street is that Godspeed's new double album isn't as good as their first two efforts, it still seems eerily appropriate in these days of never ending rain and constantly flooded streets. Clearly this Canadian band are held in special regard in London as tonight's show is the third of four sell-outs at this venue - they've even persuaded Richard D James (aka Aphex Twin) to act as guest DJ!
Diehard GYBE fans have had to puzzle through Town and Country's intriguing yet ultimately puzzling set for all four nights, but I think one was enough for me. Musically, they explore the same spaces as a lot of the Chicago bands (Tortoise et al), although they do it with aid of a bizarre collection of pre-electric instruments. Clearly, they've stumbled on a very interesting antique shop. Even though I've heard their recent album, I still find their forty minute set a bit more of a curio than something truly entertaining.
Godspeed by contrast are completely absorbing from the start. If you've seen them before you'll be amiiar with the set-up - most of them sitting down, scarcely acknowledging the crowd, and a live projectionist showing film loops on top of them. It's also a very long set, although they don't just draw on the material from the new album 'Levez Vos Skinny Fists', they include quite a few new pieces. An absolutely menacing version of 'Gathering Storm' is one of the best moments, as are the opening guitar parts of 'Mondheim' (or 'Hung Over' or whatever it's called) which manage to hush the audience into an awed silence.
Due to the epic length of the set, the crowd dwindles during the encores, which is a shame as these are often the best part of a GYBE gig, and tonight is no exception. 'BBF3' is extraordinary, still one of the finest pieces of music I've ever seen peformed live, and they send us off quietly into the night with a gently melodic song I've never heard before. Quite brilliant - still one of the best live bands on the face of the earth.
