On The Scene//Bulbs Live at the Capstone, Liverpool.
The longest day of
the year went by somewhat quickly for this reviewer and it was closed in a pleasantly cool way by a gig headlined by Bulbs that surprised as much as it enlightened...
It’s been a while
since I’ve been to a gig at the Capstone and my return there made up for that
in a big way. The occasion that bought me here was Bulbs album launch for their
long awaited album ON. With such a cleverly punning name it’d be easy to expect
similar references throughout the set but instead of that we got an amazing
support set from Babadub, featuring Bulbs’ own Marty and some truly excellent
vocals. There was spirituality positively dripping from the sounds and matched
with the cool vibes of the venue it was a excellent beginning. We look forward
to hearing more from this duo!
Bulbs came on stage
after a teasingly timed interlude and got straight on with the job at hand.
That is, set the switch firmly to ON for a straight through performance of the
album. Band leader Neil Campbell, minus his usual seat and smart jacket was in
rock out mode and with the combined talents of the band we were in for an
audiovisual treat.
The spirited run
through of the album began at the best place – the beginning. Lament began the
set with its filmic sound waves ushering us into the first track proper
Frankincensed, its bass heavy arrangement shining in the acoustics of the
venue. In its live form it took on an even more filmic quality, the underlying
car-chase paranoia vibes coming out even more.
As the evening
progressed we were treated to a spectacular, almost non-stop show of dramatic
skill as the music told its own unique story of the world around us, from the
illusions of life to the undying love that music and visual art can bring. The
accompanying visuals were also something to be seen, and quite possibly watch
independent of the music as they were fascinating. Taking various elements of
the album’s dystopic themes, they showed variously musicians at work, armies
marching and the open palmed hand motif that characterises the music’s depth.
Indeed with so much
to enjoy from this album launch it’s only a good thing to say that even you’d
already heard the album it wasn’t just a straight run through of the work.
There were added codas, different voice samples and a dramatic flair that took
the music to new levels. If ever a time machine was called for, then a repeat
of this excellent gig is surely the excuse…
Reviewed by Sebastian
Gahan.
