noah and the whale @ amoeba
On Thursday, the N Judah was packed. In fact, it was slightly less packed than the first N that I couldn’t even get on, but it was still uncomfortably full. I guess that’s what you get for trying to catch a rush hour in-store show by an up and coming and upbeat British indie pop band like Noah and the Whale (myspace).
Amoeba’s oldie, prog and folk sections were filling with people in anticipation of the band’s in-store performance. The band entered the stage as a three-piece. Their drummer was, apparently, “critically…well, not actually critically, he’ll be fine” ill and they didn’t have any horn players or a female vocals (which is sometimes Laura Marling), so it was Charlie, the singer and guitarist; a harmonium and bassist and a violinist.
Their set was quite short, just 6ish short pop songs, but they played well and were personable and funny with their banter. It had been a cynical day for me and their upbeat pop songs didn’t manage to break through that as I’d hoped they would. They were still fun but I didn’t follow their breakdowns and false endings on tenterhooks as I had at SxSW. Obviously the band isn’t responsible for my mood; on the other hand there are some bands or albums (the Apples in stereo’s Tone Soul Evolution among them) that will find their way through any mood of mine, even if it takes a couple songs.
