Apparently this is the first major new venue to open in the west end for forty years. It’s a large underground industrial space opposite Tottenham Court Road station. It will never make up for the devastation of that area with the closure of iconic venues, like the Borderline, Astoria, 12 Bar, etc. falling victim to Cross Rail and soaring rents. It has a weird queuing system that is reminiscent of Disney Land which would be all well and good but there was no queue and it just served to take us five minutes to navigate the barrier maze.
Tonight’s show is the excellent Gabriels who were for me one of the highlights of Glastonbury this year led by the enigmatic Jacob Lusk. He reminds me of Paul Janeway of St Paul and the Broken Bones, both big flamboyant men who possess voices so unique that they are without compare. It’s a real jaw drop moment when you hear them live for the first time.
It needs to be a big stage to accommodate this nine piece band but despite the size there is no lead guitar with that role being picked up by a sole violin throughout which really suits the more moodier tracks on show tonight. Props too for the three backing singers who provide the perfect sound base that allows Lusk’s voice to soar and shine.
Lusk makes quite an impact bedecked in tuxedo, cape and what looks like a black air filter from a 1976 Ford Cortina on his head. It’s straight into ‘Offering’ which immediately showcases that voice and what follows is forty five minutes of soulful funk mixed with deeper moodier tracks from across their two Eps and album. It’s a fine balance to get the tempo right as we are constantly brought up and down with the shifts in pace and style but they just about carry it off.
There is no room for banter at tonight’s show and its over in a blink of an eye but not before the band performed an epic version of ‘Professional’ interlaced with ’The Way we Were’ to end the show. One other observation from me was there seemed to be a lot of chat in the audience especially at the back and maybe the size of the room stopped the usual connection between artist and audience or maybe it was a bunch of liggers who heard that these were the next big thing in a trendy new venue but had little interest or knowledge of the music itself.
It was definitely great while it lasted but for a new band on the rise without a full album £28 for less than an hour doesn’t represent good value for money The jury is out on the venue for me but I have no doubt though their next stop will be Brixton Academy.
Keep on mournful soul rockin’ y’all.