- photo courtesy of markandlaura
From the moment the doors opened to the moment the band took to the stage, there was a palpable sense of excitement in the air, and rightly so. ‘Diamond Mine’, the 2011 album from King Creosote, seems to have finally hit the public consciousness – tonight’s show had already been moved to the larger Central Methodist Hall, and still managed to sell out the venue.
Gone was the usual joking from frontman Kenny Anderson, and in its place was a fiercely introspective take on Diamond Mine: the band opened by playing the album in its entirety, pausing only briefly, frequently segueing between songs. From the Eno-esque opening of First Watch, through to the closing lines of Your Young Voice (“it’s your young voice keeping me holding on to my dull life”), the audience hung onto every note. “That was Diamond Mine by King Creosote and Jon Hopkins” shouted Anderson triumphantly.
Having got this, the serious part, out of the way, Anderson appeared to relax somewhat, and we were treated to the odd touch of humour. With hindsight, the rest of the set was always going to struggle to match the intensity of the first half, but nonetheless we were treated to a choice selection from the extensive King Creosote back catalogue, some new songs (one so new that Anderson had to refer to handwritten lyrics!), and a beautiful cover of Tim Buckley’s ‘Song To The Siren’.
We at manchestertaper are very pleased with how the recording came out, and we hope you agree.
Stream “Your Own Spell”:
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Download complete show in mp3 format (click here)
Setlist:
01 intro
02 First watch
03 John Taylor’s month away
04 Bats in the attic
05 Running on fumes
06 Bubble
07 Your own spell
08 Your young voice
09 Cockle shell
10 And the racket they made
11 Spystick
12 Small memory
13 Sitting on a fence
14 Feart to go outside
15 ??
16 The only living boy in new york
17 Aurora boring alias
18 Song to the siren
If you download and enjoy this music, we would fully expect you to support the artist by purchasing their music and attending their gigs. Diamond Mine can be purchased here: http://www.fencerecords.com/artists/king-creosote/
Thank you for making the performance available for download. I have followed both King Creosote and Jon Hopkins for a very long time, but living overseas I have never had to opportunity to get to a concert whenever I am at home. My son has managed a few times already.
I hope one day they record Song to the Siren together. It is a fabulous version and probably one of the best covers of any song I have ever heard. .
Regards,
James McKenna