British Sea Power

Regents Park view

www.soundproofmagazine.com came along to Regents Park show.
Sound Proofs Gareth Meade had never seen us play before, and chose a lovely venue for his first outing….

Walking out of Big Wheel Sunday at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, I can hardly believe what I’ve just witnessed. Once again, it seems that the best way to approach something is with no expectations at all. I hadn’t seen British Sea Power live before and their recorded material had always interested me, if not blown me away. But on an ornate stage, several metres from where I was seated, the cool night air providing welcome relief from the unexpectedly hot London day, blown away is exactly what I was.

Several people, a forest’s worth of branches and someone dressed in a bear costume invade the stage during BSP’s encore, which sees them tearing apart “Carrion” from debut The Decline of British Sea Power. Security guards have to be on full alert as extremely overzealous fans try to climb the central plinth that is precariously keeping the canopy of the stage erect. Lead Guitarist Noble beckons at his amplifier helplessly; fearing further onslaught from the crowd. All the while the costumed caniform stalks the stage with arms raised and jaw open. It’s a far cry from the perennially serious affair that this gig started off as.

That’s not to say that there was ever an expectation of tedium. In fact, it was awe inspiring to enter the small amphitheatre and see the stage being laden with foliage, a lovingly crafted wooden structure adorned with symmetrical staircases and the fading blueness of the sky watching over it all. I did think that this setting, more typically housing stage productions of Shakespeare or (ahem) Hello, Dolly!, was unusual for the abrasive nature of BSP’s material, but the civility of it all provided reassurance of witnessing something unique.

The opening songs bore fruit for this hypothesis; “The Land Beyond”‘s emphatically understated swoon especially mimicked the grandeur of the setting. But with each song, the music got a little louder, as did the crowd. By the time they played “Remember Me”, six songs into their set, people began abandoning their seats to stand along the narrow passage between the stage and the first row. From there on in, this scene was a mainstay; if you weren’t pogoing at the front, you were standing and pumping your fist as if at a Springsteen concert.

In between songs, lead singer Yan provided some interesting and endearing anecdotes, including his “Justin Hawkins breaking out of Colditz” style plan to entertain the crowd that saw him ascending the stairs of the amphitheatre during soundcheck. Unfortunately this resulted in a twisted ankle and a cold compress being sported by the singer all night. The moral? “Safety is important”; a warning directed at the slow mania building in the audience.

Inevitably the floodgates burst. During a cacophony of feedback and foliage, the band took all of the energy that had been building up and solidified their reputation as an electrifying live band. Do You Like Rock Music’s “Waving Flags” rounded out the pre-encore set with the crowd enthusiastically singing along. Even if BSP had not come back on I think that they would have felt they received their money’s worth. But of course, the band did come back on. And got more than they, the organisers, or I bargained for. Brilliant.

Gareth Meade