Local Natives- Manchester Club Academy 12.11.10

The energy.
The electric atmosphere.
The music. 

Wow.

One of the best gigs I've been too. 

Support Acts:

Cloud Control- Wasn't too keen at first although they grew on me as the set went on and by the end I rather liked their stuff.

Superhumanoids- Good friends of Local Natives, also from LA, it was their first show overseas. They weren't bad, unfortunately, the sound wasn't great for them but their music wasn't dissimilar from Local Natives. 

Local Natives

As soon as they came onto the stage I knew it was going to be a good gig. It was my first time in Club Academy and we were so close to the band. They opened with Camera Talk which set the mood perfectly. They continued to play tracks from their debut and critically acclaimed album, Gorilla Manor. This resulted in a combination of softer songs with more upbeat lively ones, but with each song the audience was singing along. They closed there set with Sun Hands, which was just perfect. Everyone was singing along, hands in the air, dancing. Exceptional. It really cannot be beaten.

Manchester was their first stop of their UK tour and in my opinion it was one incredible opening night.  

Efterklang at Liverpool Academy 7.11.10

I decided to go and see Efterklang after being blown away when I first heard Modern Drift. After hearing that song I listened to the rest of the album 'Magic Chairs' and rather liked it. When I saw they were playing in Liverpool I thought, why not? I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting much from the gig but I was soon to be proven wrong.

The support act were Stealing Sheep, a group of three girls whose harmonies reminded me of Mountain Man with a bit more instrumentation. I rather liked them, especially their more upbeat song, Telephone. However, I think they're quite a few of these groups around at the moment, that remind me of Emmy the Great and Alessi's Ark. 

Then it was Efterklang's turn. As soon as the lead singer opened his mouth I was in awe, such a powerful voice, the tracks on the album really don't do it justice. 

Meanwhile, the bassist bobbed his head along like a chicken to the beat throughout most of the songs, never quite seen head movement like it. 

The band played a mixture of songs from their latest album 'Magic Chairs' and older works. The audience grew ever more entranced as the set went on, and when the lead singer declared 'silence' at the end of a lyric, silence fell in Liverpool academy, something that the lead singer was quite amazed by. It seemed pretty pleased with their first performance ever in Liverpool. 

My two favourite performances of the night were Modern Drift, simply because I love that song so much, and   I was Playing Drums, which really got the audience joining in and clapping along. 

Overall, I was really impressed. They exceeded all my expectations and the lead's voice was one of the best I've heard, it carried so well. The harmonies with the female singer were lovely. Also, the fact that the band looked like they were really enjoying performing the whole way through the set made me enjoy it even more.   Efterklang are definitely better live, the build ups in their tracks can only be truly experienced live. Basically, if you get the chance, go and see them!