Tonight I went to see Dave Longstreth & co play a very special show at the Barbican, in which the Dirty Projectors played two sets- one, a performance of ‘The Getty Address’ and one of ‘Bitte Orca’ songs.
‘The Getty Address’ is a concept album about Don Henley. It’s pretty abstract and has lots of things that sound nice. They all dressed like wizards a bit:
Performing with Dirty Projectors was the brilliant Alarm Will Sound, a chamber orchestra with it’s roots in New York. It was completely wonderful to hear the songs performed live and so perfectly.
The second set comprised of the more recent Dirty Projectors material. I love the album ‘Bitte Orca’ so much; it’s grown to be one of my most favourite releases from last year and I love every track on the album. It’s almost been a year since I first saw them play, and I’ve been keen to catch them again since. This was a real treat.
They only played seven songs, but each one was so incredible. Dave and Angel opened as a duo performing ‘Two Doves’, it was beautiful.
The band were on top form and were really rocking. The girls in the band just have the most incredible voices and the interplay between them is fantastic; every member of the band played with a great enthusiasm and energy. Brian Mcomber was grinning ear to ear and hammering the drums, Dave was bouncing on his toes, and they all were super into it. I just wanted to stand up too- sitting down felt wrong. I love watching Amber sing ‘Stillness Is The Move’. She really belts it out.
Such a great set, I enjoyed it so much. Easily one of my favourite performances of the year. I couldn’t help but smile while I was sitting there marveling at how amazing they were- that’s always a sign I’m watching something truly special.
They came back for an encore, in which they performed one new song from their forthcoming album with Bjork. Dave mentioned it’s going to be released next Wednesday. Super soon! The song was fantastic and I can’t wait to hear the recorded version.
Such a unique and amazing band. Go see them live.
It‘s quiet in here! Why not say something?