GAZPACHO
VENUE THE DOME, LONDON
DATE 28/05/2018
There are few things as predictable on a British bank holiday Monday as weather more suited to waterfowl and planned engineering works on
London’s transport network. Norway’s premier conceptual art-rockers have been paying attention, and thoughtfully issued a notification that tonight’s show will forego its customary interval to allow punters to get home safely at a reasonable hour.
As latecomers shake off the last of the thunderstorm, the house lights dim, the artwork of Antonio Seijas illuminates the stage and the melancholic beats of Soyuz One enter the atmosphere. As the song builds, it soon becomes apparent that Jon-Arne Vilbo’s guitar is very high in the mix. Whether by accident or design, it adds a metallic edge to Gazpacho’s typically self-effacing, meticulously crafted sound. The alt-rocker
Hypomania benefits even more from this happy chance, its already huge airplayfriendly hooks coming over like a cathedral of Radiohead-style indie prog noise.
The guitar eventually settles back in the mix and, moving away from the current cinematic Soyuz opus, The Wizard Of Altai Mountains zooms the camera in to a more intimate setting. Its folk-tinged melodies give Gazpacho’s secret weapon Mikael Krømer some time under the spotlight, his Eastern European violin weaving among the threads of keyboardist Thomas Andersen’s fauxaccordion accompaniment. Gazpacho are nothing if not eclectic.
A spectral procession of Black Lily, The Dumb and Golem represents three visitations from 2012’s March Of Ghosts. Their yearning refrains over cyclical guitar figures mixed with haunting, faceless visuals are affecting. Jan Henrik Ohme’s singular voice is at once dissociated and heart-rendingly passionate, evoking an eerie disconnect between the corporeal and spiritual – a divide Gazpacho span expertly.
Dream Of Stone begins its inexorable creep. As repetitive and soporific as this track may seem on the surface, it bubbles with magic across its 15-plus minutes. There’s no sign that this breakthrough, watershed song in the Norwegians’ catalogue holds any less interest for the musicians playing it now than it does for their audience. It radiates a hypnotic and unique quality a decade on.
Ohme reveals that he put his foot down to include The Walk from Tick Tock in this setlist. Thank goodness his cohorts acquiesced. This is where all the elements of Gazpacho’s music gel perfectly – the lavish storytelling, the widescreen grandeur and the very human call of Krømer’s violin.
Soyuz Out is accompanied by images depicting the life and tragic death of Cosmonaut Komarov. The cumulative effect is as emotive as the footage of Donald Campbell’s ill-fated water speed record attempt when Marillion play Out Of This World. This is epic music in every sense.
The scale of tonight’s 140-minute show demonstrates that this is a band full of confidence. They should be. Their performance here has been faultless.
CHRIS MCGAREL