Live Review: Half Moon Run - O2 Kentish Town Forum, London 13/09/2023
Canada’s beloved indie rock trio Half Moon Run played O2 Kentish Town Forum on Wednesday, 13th September, as part of an expansive global tour - and they were simply stunning.
March 12 2020, Camden. Half Moon Run, then still a four piece, played a triumphant show at the Roundhouse - but little did anyone know that that would be their last show for a year and a half, with the gig balancing on the precipice of a global pandemic.
1,280 days later sees a new Half Moon Run — returning once more to their roots as a three piece, with an EP, pseudo-live album (do Covid sessions count?) and a fourth studio album in Salt in tow — emerge triumphant and, dare we say better than ever, for their first ‘proper’ London headline show in way too long.
You know a band’s fan base is respectful when the entire room is pin-drop silent the second the support emerges on stage; and, inversely, you know a support’s wowed the crowd when that same silence persists through their set. And, although that might not always have lasted - particularly as restless latecomers started to stream into back of the venue - her blend of vivid storytelling and rocky riffs still managed to captivate the crowd.
Margaret Glaspy, serving as the night’s afore-mentioned warm-up - and indeed, the special guest for the entire run of UK gigs — is a solo singer songwriter from Brooklyn, and her sometimes-raspy, sometimes-ferocious, and all-times brilliant crooning, accompanied as it was by the gentle strums of an electric guitar, was a fantastic start to the night. On the whole, the set seemed to flit between the angsty and gritty — ‘Female Brain’, ‘You and I’ — and the melodically wistful, particularly with ‘Irish Goodbye’ and the emotional ‘Memories’, all with some truly infectious smiles strewn throughout.
It was the closer, though, that really showcased her range. Impressively explosive vocals and emotive songwriting, all over her bellowing, bluesy guitar, led to a cacophony of various deserved whoops and cheers from the thoroughly won-over crowd, as she tore through the riveting ‘Get Back’, from her recently released third album, Echo The Diamond.
An amazing set - and, with the strength and depth of her performance, especially considering the lack of accompaniment, a particularly impressive one too.
But, of course, the crowd wasn’t there for Margaret. That privilege belonged to the massively talented, multi-instrumentalist, and much adored trio from Quebec who took to the stage a mere thirty minutes later. And, as they almost surreptitiously traipsed on, with a backdrop oddly reminiscent of a board meeting — bar graphs, anyone? — Devon, Conner and Dylan were greeted with a cacophony of cheers that seemed to shake the room. With their intimate show at Lafayette the year before having less than half the capacity, it marked their first ‘full’ appearance on a London stage since pre-Covid; and boy was the crowd excited.
There was no time to waste for reminiscing though — bursting straight into Salt‘s opener and lead single ‘You Can Let Go’, with its delicately droned drum beat and almost panicked lyricism, the show was a go. The seasoned professionals barely paused for a second, though, as the bouncy, jaunty, and oddly hypnotic ‘Hotel In Memphis’ and the wonderfully subtle ‘Everyone’s Moving Out East’, two more Salt entries nipping hastily at its heels, showed just what made Half Moon Run one of the most effortlessly consistent bands of the past ten years. In fact, Salt was liberally peppered throughout the set; the band showcased a good 70% of the album, yet somehow the crowd still screamed every word alongside them.
It would be remiss at this point, though, not to mention just what made the show so particularly damn special: the violinists, violist and cellist that accompanied them. Having had only a day to prepare, the scaled-down string ensemble performed phenomenally well, elevating song after song after song to the lofty heights that usually only stand-out songs, with the mightiest of depths, could aspire to; from the new, such as the afore mentioned ‘Hotel In Memphis’, title track ‘Salt’ or 2020’s fan favourite ‘Grow Into Love’, to the expansive ‘I Can’t Figure Out What’s Going On’, or the truly old and revered, such as 2012’s ‘Unofferable’.
The trio weren’t slouches themselves, though. From tracks that had been in the works for over a decade, like the addictive ‘Alco’ or the riveting drum-based conflict of ‘9beat’ — Devon and Conner fighting over the one drum planted resolutely, stubbornly, in the centre of the stage — to the newer musical babies of the band, Half Moon Run surely showed they knew how to run a instrumentally tight ship: no ‘half’ about it.
There was no clearer song to showcase that than 2019’s ‘Razorblade’. It was clear to see why original audiences once thought that the song was instead three others haphazardly soldered together, what with its masterful evolution and whiplash-inducing twists and turns. Despite the breezy and distinctly folk-y first half, the soaring instrumentals, abruptly head-bang-esque drums, haunting electric guitar and Devon’s roared vocals in the second seemed something straight out of a post-punk-stroke-industrial metal playbook; and, of course, the kicker is that the second about turn flips the song even more on its head, transforming into a catchy yet stomach-churning rollercoaster that truly has it all.
Whether a trio or a septet, each and every song seemed to reach new heights for the band, particularly as the night drew to a close. As good as that close was though — the fricative threesome of fan favourites ‘Favourite Boy’, ‘Fire Escape’ and ‘Full Circle’ being as good an alliterative set as you could ever want — it was the false end, ‘She Wants To Know’, that really stood above the rest. The opening of the track blending into the end of ‘I Can’t Figure Out What’s Going On’, leaving no chance to prepare… the slinking, skulking, superb rawness of the track… the blistering instrumentals and haunting vocals… the explosive culmination resolving into a ‘You Can Let Go’ refrain… despite being less than five minutes, ‘She Wants To Know’ truly left the set feeling like it had come full circle.
The band might have seemed to return to their roots, once more a three piece, but the dichotomy of musical tightness and raw, unbridled talent on display left the band seeming fresher than they’ve ever looked before. A humbling night, and one hell of a show.
Words by James O’Sullivan
Photography by Abigail Shii
