On Thursday Ben Howard graced over 10,000 peoples’ ears when he and his band took to the stage at Alexandra Palace, in the first of three nights in the breathtaking venue. Needless to say Ben Howard is a well accomplished artist, but he truly outdid himself and left everyone trying to convince themselves that the past few hours had actually happened.
The support act, Aero Flynn, were interesting to say the least. Their music was quite experimental and they definitely had an on-stage presence, with front-man Josh Scott warming up the crowd by saying “we are Aero Flynn, we are now inside you”. They played their self titled debut EP, with the highlight being ‘Crisp’: using soft vocals, heavy guitar solos and very strange interludes to equally entice and repel the crowd. Trying to understand their performance made the wait for the main act much shorter.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-86p7BEQGo&w=740&h=422]
When it came time for Ben Howard, the atmosphere in the hall was electric and it fell silent as he opened with a chilling version of ‘Am I In Your Light’ (only available on Youtube or if you have the vinyl) that left the whole crowd wide-eyed. The sense of awe carried on throughout the night; there were a surprisingly low number of ‘WE LOVE YOU BEN”s to be heard, with everyone soaking up the music. He played the majority of his new album, I Forget Where We Were, complete with extended instrumentals on songs like ‘Rivers In Your Mouth’ which saw the whole band jam together on stage. Ben Howard’s haunting vocals and the soul he puts into his music made it feel incredibly personal, despite being in a sold-out arena watching him on a stage. Other songs that really stunned the audience included ‘The Fear’ (done in a very dark and slower-paced way) and ‘All Is Now Harmed’. He ended with a 10 minute rendition of ‘End Of The Affair’; complete with black and white lights, distorted images of the band being splayed across screens and even a bit of dancing when the song picks up tempo halfway through.
Of course there was an encore. Ben Howard came back on, solo, and fulfilled everyone’s Every Kingdom dreams by playing classics like ‘The Wolves’, which filled the room with singing and dancing. The ultimate last song was ‘Esmerelda’, from the Burgh Island EP. It ended the night perfectly, hearing Howard sing “Lonely, oh, no not me / I have a grave to dig” with more spirit and sincerity in his voice than is heard from most modern musicians now.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYUKsRL-YBM&w=740&h=422]
Although the train journey back to Brighton left me at breaking point, it was an incredibly moving performance and Ben Howard’s ability to create so much emotion in the crowd with so little was astonishing. If you’re going to see him on this arena tour, have an amazing time, you will not be let down.
Words by Bethy Lees.