Thursday 09 November 2023.

Thursday 09 November 2023. THEE SACRED SOULS live at Shepherds Bush Empire. This show is the last date on their European Tour. In May 2023 they were on Jools Holland BBC tv show. Thee Sacred Souls have been building audiences all over the world with their self-titled 2022 debut, and a sound that mixes the easy-going grace of sweet 60s soul with the grit and groove of early 70s R&B. Their performances are utterly intoxicating. Hints of Chicano, Philly, Chicago, Memphis, and even Panama soul turn up. ---------- The show tonight is fully sold out. A nice cool soul lovin' crowd as black and white folks mixed , and the 20 something's packed the stalls standing, and the older folks stuck to the seats upstairs. DJ DADDY BONES was the support act tonight. He played obscure 70s soul vinyl singles to warm the crowd up. THEE SACRED SOULS arrived at 9pm for their 80 mins set. For half the songs in the set, there are 10 musicians on stage, including a three man brass section and two female backing vocals. Singer Josh Lane has a great look, with his loose dreads. Lots of the songs were based around love , and he went into the stalls crowd to sing a couple of songs, which went down well, and a couple of times he was in the pit area. The best songs seemed to be nearer the end. Thee Sacred Souls deliver ‘Weak For Your Love’, a crowd favourite and their biggest hit that has everyone singing along and hollering in appreciation as Josh hits the high notes with ease. They thank us and then leave the stage, prompting the crowd burst into a raucous ‘one more song!’ chant. There’s a deafening chorus of cheers, shrill whistles cut the air, and thundering feet stomp the ground like a drumroll. For the start of their encore, Thee Sacred Souls play ‘Future Lover' then ‘It’s Our Love’ and their viral track ‘Can I Call You Rose?’. For the former, Josh walks deep into the crowd, his weightless soul vocals serenading the lucky people around him. During ‘Rose’, we see Josh bow his thanks to someone who hands him a fake red rose. He clutches it fervently as he sings, his eyes shut tight as he stretches out his arms. An enjoyable show. --------------------------------- --------------------------------- Wednesday 08 November 2023. LAIBACH live at Shepherds Bush Empire. Laibach play a one off UK show on their European Tour. Laibach is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the electro- industrial genre. They formed in the mid 1980s. I spent a fortnight in North East Slovenia a few years ago , near the Austrian border. ---------- Levels 2 and 3 are closed tonight, so maybe 700 or 800 tix sold. LAIBACH were on stage for 1 hour 55 mins over two sets of 40 mins and 75 mins. The stage production is top notch , as we have a massive digital screen showing images along with loads of lights and strobes , that compliment the music perfectly. The band feature two keyboard/synth players. LAIBACH belongs to the experimental bands that combine classical music and electro-industrial sounds with the unique deep voice of Milan Fras. At the beginning, the band played a few bars alone until the enchanting singer Marina Martensson with her curly red hair and an acoustic guitar entered the stage and sang the song ‘Love Is Still Alive (Moon, Euphoria)’. While the music video for the song played on the big wall in the background, singer Milan Fras entered the stage in a glittering silver suit and Stetson Western hat. After this song, both left the stage again and until a break, the band played very ambient electronic sounding industrial music. The first set was variations of one track ' Love is Still Alive'. The whole show was very moody, with no smiling on stage. The overall sound was perfect. The crowd nodded along to the synth dominated sounds. For the second encore LAIBACH played their neat cover version of the ROLLING STONES song ‘Sympathy For The Devil’. A very enjoyable audio-visual show.

Posted 9th November 2023