reviewed for The Dwarf

A shrunken Manning Bar in the form of false walls greeted punters as they arrived for British Sea Power. I’m not sure if this is a permanent change to the venue or just a way to make an undersold gig feel fuller than it was. It seems to be a bit of a recent trend with the Metro also dividing the back of the room for a similar purpose.

Regardless, there was a decent enough smattering of people to witness the support slot from Bridezilla’s Daisy M Tulley. Performing with just an acoustic guitar, violin and loop pedal she impressed with her aching and mournful folk-tinged songs. Her voice was a treat and sounded much more world weary than her appearance would suggest. With songs like If I Had A Child and There Will Be Sadness she veers close to raw emotion and despite some stage nerves she delivered a gorgeous set.

British Sea Power are one of those bands that seem to forever bubbling under, never quite going overground to mass success. For the diehard fans that is probably how they like it, they have their own secret idols and there was definitely a section of the crowd who were there to worship.

The biggest regret of the show was that they didn’t venture into the instrumental post rock of last year’s Man Of Aran soundtrack, a haunting and stately piece of work. Regardless they did put on an entertaining show after a fairly subdued start. It was as if the crowed were tentative and waiting to be impressed rather than immediately engaging with the band. Mid set things seemed to change and the band and audience both relaxed.

Early highlights were the breezy pop of Blackout and a surging Remember Me, possibly the best song the band have. The choppy Apologies To Insect Life seemed to be the catalyst for everyone to really get involved. It stood out from many of their songs and was a knife-edge example of great visceral post punk.

Waving Flags showed they can write a rousing indie anthem and it had the core enthusiasts losing themselves in euphoric arm waving down the front. All good things must come to an end and British Sea Power finished off with an extended outro while guitarist banged his instrument on his head, made gaffer tape bridges from the stage to the crowd and wrapped tape around his head before surfing across the heads of the punters. It was a surprisingly freewheeling finish from a band that seemed fairly restrained for most of the gig.

British Sea Power were probably let down by being booked in a venue too large, Oxford Art Factory would have been a much better location. In spite of a lack of real connection and atmosphere they showed they had the songs and the presence to make an average show turn out pretty good.