Amandine
Live @ The Luminaire, London, 11/11/06
It started out a bit nervously tonight for Amandine. The sound on stage seemed to be a bit rubbish, although I didn't notice this (not being on stage and all), but for the first two songs it felt as if all things weren't really in all the right places. Then it all shaped up and, by the end, it was a finished product worthy kings! I really like singer/songwriter and alt.country stuff, but it has to be very good to hold my attention live, since my attention span is way too short and I easily drift off (physically and mentally). Amandine managed to draw me in tonight though, despite them not playing too many songs from their album from last year which are the only songs I've heard from their repertoire. For playing such slow songs, they were quite fun to watch, especially their bass player who looked and behaved as if he was in some punk band. When they had finished, I left the venue, even though Adem (England's folk guru #1) was on next (Lisa Germano was meant to headline tonight, but she cancelled). I'm not too bothered about missing out on Adem (who I, to be honest, have seen too many times), I only came to see Amandine, and it was well worth the little trek to Kilburn (mind you, it's almost always worth going to The Luminaire, London's best venue).
- Simon Tagestam