By Sally Churchward. Photo by Neil Glasspool.
Orlando Week’s set at Papillon last night felt less like a gig and more like some sort of private happening – in an entirely good way.
Everything about the evening screamed – or rather whispered – intimate: the low stage with the band seated a little out of touching distance of the front of the crowd, the stage lighting and dry ice which created a smokey cocoon around the band and, of course Week’s himself.
His set felt very personal – at times it felt voyeuristic to be so close, watching him with his eyes shut, seemingly transported by the lyrics he was singing. But Weeks welcomed the audience along with him, chatting, inviting participation, even saying ‘bless you’ when an audience member sneezed between songs. We were with him on this narrative journey, sharing the highs and – at least me – shedding tears in the more heartbreaking songs.
After support from Cameron Picton, Weeks settled down at his keyboard, barely visible in the dry ice, and launched into his setlist starting with the laid back sound but bitter sweet lyrics Sorry.
Weeks was pitch perfect throughout. His songs have a strong narrative feel and it’s easy to pick up on snatches of stories and deeper meanings.
For those who don’t know, as well as being the former frontman of The Maccabees, Weeks is an illustrator and author, with the highly praised graphic novel The Gritterman, which explored ageing, being published in 2017, accompanied by an album of the same name – the original score of the book.
I’m sure there’s a lot to be gained from reading the lyrics but I find listening to them heartbreaking enough at times and fear I’d find them just so darned sad I wouldn’t be able to play them while I’m pottering the house anymore if I wasn’t the the mood for a good cry.
That said, I did find myself crying, during the poetic perfection of Seasonal Hero from the album.
The night also featured a number of tracks from Week’s new album – Loja – he now lives in Lisbon and a Logia is a small local shop, and the album was conceived as a love letter to his new home.
He began telling the audience about it, saying “it’s…” with an audience member finishing his sentence, shouting “amazing!”. Weeks joked that now he was going to play it wrong, but of course he didn’t.
One of the many highlights of the evening was the song Dig – the lead single from the album. That said, it almost didn’t happen for Southampton, thanks to protracted technical difficulties.
It was one of those moment that could have floored a musician but Weeks rolled with it – joking that he should have saved his story about Travelodges and whether they have a golden ticket with a magical room that he’d shared earlier and taking questions from the audience before singing stream of consciousness lyrics to the tune of Seasonal Hero, including “I think I’ll stick with this while they deal with the technical problem so I’m not in my head… ’cause I was awkward”. He noted – in song – that it would be the bit of the night that everyone would remember and yes, but in a good way.
He wasn’t going to play Dig as he felt he’d rather not perform it than do so badly, but happily he caved to audience pressure and it was brilliant.
The evening ended with Tomorrow, also from Loja, a gently uplifting song that, for me, has the best of Breakfast Club/Pretty in Pink-esque 80s vibes.
It felt like Weeks had taken the audience on a journey with him. He and the band were so obviously into what they were doing, looking like they’d happily play the set for themselves even if there wasn’t an audience, that it was impossible not to be swept up and carried along with them.
There were so many great moments, from peeks into what felt raw and personal in the likes of Blood Sugar to the uplifting Good to See You, through friendly banter and being invited to join in creating a wall of sound.
It felt like a story had been told, and that we’d been part of the telling. And with all the the best stories, I could happily go back and take it all in again as soon as it had finished.
There are two more dates on the tour, in London tonight (October 3) and Brighton tomorrow (October 4). For more details, visit orlandoweeks.co.uk
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