Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Grayson Gilmour @ SFBH

Grayson Gilmour live @ San Fransisco Bath House, 30/5/2008

Being a huge fan of So So Modern and enjoying what I'd heard on 'You Sleep, We Creep' and because it was the first gig I'd been to in a month since Ratatat and because it was only 10 bucks I was looking forward to my first experience of seeing Grayson Gilmour by himself live (although I've seen him heaps as part of SSM). He opened by apologising profusely that the reason for his first gig in Welly in over a year (the release of his new 'Chapters' E.P.) had caught a minor snag. There were no E.Ps to celebrate the release of, apparently because "Aucklanders can't do their jobs" and hadn't managed to press and ship them down in time. Thankfully the live music more than made up for the absence of the recorded format. Playing a diverse mix from his earlier albums right up to new songs from the E.P., Grayson played with intensity and a genuine enjoyment of his performance that is always refreshing. Switching effortlessly from Electric Piano to Guitar to synth to his freaking awesome mini toy piano, Grayson justified the packed crowd's appreciation of his melodic tunes that changed tone as often as he changed instruments. While the songs accompanied by his backing band sounded more intricate and cohesive his stripped down versions of songs with just his voice and a rumbling piano line had a character of their own that perfectly balanced out the set. Overall a great relaxed gig that showed why Grayson is one of the biggest musicians in the Wellington scene.

Check him out at www.myspace.com/graysongilmour

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