Low - 15/10/18

I try and avoid standing gigs in overcrowded venues but Low are a band I'll put up with it for. I am always glad to do it and this was no exception. Support was a duo called Keto. The main thrust of the sound was the female vocalist who also played guitar whilst her collaborator played either guitar or keyboards. At their most dynamic and frenzied they were on a par with the calmer elements of the singer Redwood (seen as support a couple of gigs ago) but there were some superficial similarities in the vocal style. I preferred Redwood - partly the minutiae of the lyrics were not to my taste. Low cam on as a trio with bassist Steve Garrington. I liked the way they reverentially brought their own instruments on - no rough roadie allowed to mess with their stuff. Steve is a great creative and interesting bassist who fits right in with the idiosyncratic Low sound. There is no band remotely like them partly because of Alan Sparhawk's edgy and unique guitar - he plays chords that are either in the furthest reaches of the chord book or more likely not even in them. Then there are the exquisite vocals of Mimi Parker and Alan's vocals are pretty damn good too and the two voices blend brilliantly. They started with the opener on the new album ('Quorum') but it was a bit less white noiseish than the album version and then moved onto some old favourites; 'No Comprendre', 'Plastic Cups' and 'The Innocents'. I particularly love the last of these because of Mimi's vocals. Then there was a group of songs from the new album with a couple of other songs I didn't know thrown in. The one really long song featured some frenetic playing from both guitar and bass racking up the speed and volume with some of the bass being experienced through the skin. Great stuff. After that section there was a return to some older stuff including 'Spanish Translation', 'Nothing but Heart' and 'Holy Ghost' - this last again being Mimi's vocals front and centre. 'Lies' was next and then just a few more songs before the encore of 'Murderer'. What a great and uplifting gig. To hear top-notch original music played with verve and enjoyment. Standing for 4 hours without a drink in the overheated hall - a pleasure. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/low/2018/trinity-centre-bristol-england-7b969e4c.html