After buying the album, I went and had a look at the She Makes War website and discovered that Little Battles was getting its first public airing at the Half Moon Pub, Herne Hill, so I decided it was an opportunity to just pop over and listen the the album live.
I confess that it wasn't just the live premiere of the album that attracted me, it was the fact that Laura had pulled together what looked like a rather eclectic group of friends to help perform Little Battles live. Keyboards, backing singers, drummer and guitarists we are all familiar with. Two violinist and a harpist is something else altogether and that alone merited attending the gig. On top of this, Laura was apparently worried that she might not get her megaphone from the Royal Mail.
First impression of the Half Moon was that it's an interesting venue for small gigs. There was parking right out front, good food available from the bar and a bar in the room where the gig was held. The stage, while not huge, was capable of holding everyone.
Before Laura came on stage, we had two warm up acts, both of whom then joined Laura on stage as part of the extended band.
First up - Cajita. Mellow, tuneful, guitar and loops. Not really my style but it was a pleasant enough start to the evening.
Next up, Mishkin Fitzgerald who played keyboards and sang. I quite enjoyed listening to Mishkin and would have liked to hear more but she didn't bring any merchandise with her so nothing to listen to.
Eventually, on came Laura for a couple of solo numbers to begin with the evening was well under way. There were a few technical hitches at the beginning but with so much kit on a small stage, it was bound to happen. Unfortunately, I didn't make a track list as the gig went on and the music shifted between Little Battles and Laura's first album, Disarm.
While I'd enjoyed the recorded album, I was surprised by the power of the live performance. Laura holds the audience really well and they responded well to her. It wasn't long before the first of the backing group, called The Olympians came on stage with Laura. Dana Jade and Cajita on guitar, Lesley Spiers on backing vocals and Tom Gardiner on drums. It turned out that they had only had two rehearsals before this gig although it didn't really show.
Dana was outstanding. Despite being about as far away from the audience as she could get, she really does project herself and her guitar playing. Tom, was tucked into the corner and, surprisingly, wasn't on stage for the entire set. In fact, quite a few tracks didn't feature drums at all.
When the violinists Milly McGregor and Erica Nockalls came on stage to join Laura, the music worked really well and it just seemed to really work. Sometimes, when I hear violins used by bands, they seem almost contrived. Milly and Erica just added to the depth of the sound rather than changing it.
The same was true when Kat Arney joined Laura on stage. The harp was truly part of the music and became more so with Kat, Erica and Milly playing together. One track stood out, Butterfly, which Laura credited to Kat and which worked really well.
Not to be left out, Mishkin came back on stage and The Olympians were complete.
The standout of this evening for me is that it shows how the music scene is really changing. Just two weeks ago, with an album launch coming up and her own live gigs, Laura was doing backing vocals for someone else. Every one of The Olympians is a working musician in their own right, either playing solo, in a band or even in multiple bands.
This was a great album launch. The music went from melancholic to rock and touched a whole bunch of points in-between. I enjoyed the evening so much that I ended up sitting in front of the speaker stacks, something I haven't done in a very long time. The buzz from the evening was palpable and there wasn't a single person in the audience who didn't seem to have enjoyed it.
UPDATE
Courtesy of @substandardnerd, here is the playlist from the gig:
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