CIRCUSES? DANCING? POSING DODOS ??
October 2003
LUMIERE - LIVE @ ST.JAMES
CAVALIER
The curious title of this article (borrowed off the
poster promoting the live performance you’ll be reading about) couldn’t
be truer, for even something as fascinating as the sight of a dodo would
probably have paled in comparison to the unique performance that I
(along with 149 other persons) witnessed a couple of weeks ago. The
venue (sold out, by the way!) was the eloquent St. James Cavalier – the
performers none other than Malta’s undiscovered (or is that under-rated)
gems, Lumiere. I could easily pile on the plaudits on this relatively
new-to-the-scene alternative band - and they wouldn’t be undeserved
either - but instead I’ll quickly flit through the brief but impressive
performance they gave that night.
Lights out, the band comes on. The (centre) stage in itself was enough
to set the mood for what was to follow, and Lumiere’s opening track
(Lost Weekend) offered us an intense introduction into the band’s
experimental side. The studio version of this song is quite powerful
already, but live, the track becomes even more vibrant, each musician
feeding off the other to come together in swirling crescendos. And all
this while singer Mario plays down his poignant vocal melody in stark
contrast. The Curse of Mike Leigh is another instance of this aural
structure, except that this particular song actually towers over every
other tonight. The closest Lumiere get to this level of glorious musical
abandon is on the last song, On Every Cloud, which I can already see as
another potential titan track for the band.
Throughout most of the set, the lads display a variety of influences,
although most of it seemed to be downplayed to give the performance a
more intimate ambience (it did!). Outside of the post-rock scenario,
Lumiere tone down to various levels of acoustic proximity, and here the
band’s appeal emerges even further (at least tonight). I’ve often
written that Mario’s voice has a kind of Neil Hannon appeal to it, and
this usually shines through when Lumiere take a more acoustic approach
to their music. A case in point is new song Under A Tuscan Sky; stripped
down to the very bare essentials, the simple tune gives Mario’s vocals a
vulnerability that adds to the band-audience closeness already in the
air. The one thing that struck me most on the night however, was the
kind of freeform approach that seemed to seep into the music, sometimes
on keyboards, sometimes on guitar, but most often on drums. I’m not sure
about the other 149 persons present there, but this was one of the most
insightful gigs I’ve ever seen. Pity it was over so quickly!
Recommended weblink: www.lumieremusic.com
