XL Recordings

Although we had perhaps found our feet, and the sets were possibly tighter, the "homecoming" leg of tour was somewhat more gruelling than the outward journey. There's a tricky balance to strike, because lapsing into routine bodes well for 'slick' performances but not necessarily for excitement and spontaneity. That's not to say the gigs weren't enjoyable â€' I found the Leeds show particularly atmospheric. The robbing of Luke by another band on the Birmingham date forced us to change set and throw in "Buttercups" at the last minute, which was not played at any other venue. The Oxford gig saw an embarrassing guitar-strap "malfunction", followed by my first ever onstage string-breakage (a trick deftly repeated in the same song at the ULU show). So hopefully, the shows retained some individual character.

Nevertheless it was with some degree of relief that we returned home and began to prepare for the ULU show. The decision to play with strings at that gig necessitated a fair a bit of planning â€' I wanted to involve the players we had used for acoustic shows in the past, all friends of mine, some of whom now study at music conservatories across the country. A whole morning of setting up was needed for only two hours of rehearsal, which given travel arrangements was all we had to put the show together. I was still frantically trying to slot scores into folders on the tube on my way to the studio!

Despite the frenetic nature of that Wednesday, hard work all round paid off â€' and I think that the Friday's London show at ULU was fittingly climactic. We played these songs:

Colourful Life
Time Falls
Five Days
'Frozen Girl'
Amylase
'Talk to Me'
The Race
No Joanna
'Train Song'
The Hill, the View and the Lights
The Next Untouchable

The decision to play "No Joanna" was perhaps an unusual one, given that we'd only ever given it one airing at an 'electric' show before, but we felt that with the strings in toe, it was too good an opportunity to miss. If the crowd reaction was a little unexpected (clapping to the beat in the verses?), it was still tremendously uplifting to hear a room full of 800 people sing to the chorus. The evening ended in an appropriately surreal manner. A deafening fire alarm meant that the band and crew, along with the crowd, were shepherded out onto the streets and not allowed back in the venue to gather violins, cellos and jackets until after the fire trucks had been and gone. We can count ourselves lucky that unlike at Vampire Weekend's ULU gig, we'd played our last song before the bells went off.

Having played the largest show, in our hometown, it felt strange to return to the road for our final two gigs. After the 'posh' set-up in London, however, it was refreshing to go back to basics and the gig at Chinnery's in Southend had much of the same energy as the pub and club gigs we played when the band was first starting out in London. Brighton carried on along the same vein â€' and it was gratifying that the Concorde was packed out for our final show.
I feel that this tour has given us the opportunity to step the live shows right up, and for that our crew (Alex, T, Scooby and Andy â€' our combined merch-salesman and drum tech) and string section (Hannah, Azita, Robbie â€' violins, Alex â€' cello) must all be thanked. We're looking forward to starting once again in Europe next much â€' but until then, we'll be buried in a studio. That is, except on Halloween, where we hope to see all of you at Koko.

Bye for now,
Robbie x

Now Listening to: Rolling Stones â€' "Let it Bleed"

Now Reading: Kafka â€' "In the Penal Colony"