rashbre central: Amanda Palmer at Union Chapel

Tuesday 9 June 2015

Amanda Palmer at Union Chapel


Tuesday evening and along to Union Chapel, for an Amanda Palmer gig. Despite some attempt at pre-planning, I was late, missing the pre-gig build up and heading upstairs to the often less crowded part of the Chapel.

The show was just underway, although Amanda hadn't yet arrived on stage. This was to turn out to be a well-constructed three hour set, with Amanda and various friends on stage during different parts of the show. It opened with Perhaps Contraption as a riotous band filling the stage, rocking it to the rafters.

When the six-month pregnant Amanda appeared, she started unaccompanied with an Irish folk ballad, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, one that I don't remember hearing her sing before.

Then to work with the grand piano, mixing familiar songs from across her extremely varied catalogue. The show was also being beamed out live to patreon viewers and so there was a strange kind of twitter background as people offered song suggestions from far and wide.

About half way through, Caitlin Moran appeared for a reading and some banter with Amanda. Well-known writer Caitlin chatted humorously and with edge about their combined experiences.

Then more from Amanda, joined later on stage by Whitney Moses who dramatically noticed that Amanda was pregnant before joining her to cover Garfunkel and Oates song 'Pregnant women are smug'.

Three hours blasted past, with a warm and appreciative audience, including a finale with 'Leeds United', and creating the perfect excuse for the rest of her accomplices to rejoin the stage. A fun, raucous and entertaining evening.

1 comment:

OldLady Of The Hills said...

This sounds like a Great Night Out, my dear! Fun, and Good Music.....You can't beat that, can you?