This February brought a very, very special gig. Locals, Lanterns on the Lake performing at The Sage with the Royal Northern Sinfonia.Before heading to the gig I was to be treated to a birthday meal at River Beat where the food was fabulous, being served in 2 separate platters of a sharing tapas.
On to The Sage and first on stage was Ditte Elly, a voice that was wistful and aching, but far to close to Hazel Wildes to really stand out. Still I'm sure she'll go far.
After a short interval it was time for the main event. The orchestra were already in place when we returned to the hall and a few moments later on trouped the band. Opening strongly with 'Of Dust and Matter' they were on fine form. Playing tracks from new album Beings as well as raiding the back catalogue for some well chosen older songs. You can see the full setlist here.
A real highlight was a wonderful version of Lungs Quicken from debut album Gracious Tide Take Me Home - my personal favourite. Unfortunately pretty much for the entire gig, the guitar was lost in the mix, although it didn't spoil the evening with the Royal Northern Sinfonia providing a real depth of sound.
Like all the best gigs it was over to soon and we wandered on to the concourse to meet up with Lani and Pete. It was quite a surprise to see Simon Raymonde (ex Cocteau Twin) doing a DJ set, We didn't stay to hear his choice of music, instead heading out in to the cold air to grab a couple of drinks before heading home. Little did I realise we'd be visiting a 'secret' bar hidden underneath Bierrex and be sampling a few choice cocktails finally getting home sometime after 2am! A rather good night out.
