[ originally published 09/05/2015 ]
LAURA MARLING
Colston Hall, Bristol - 9th May 2015
Support: Gil Landry
As far as I know, Laura Marling playing electric guitar has not prompted her fans to squeal "Judas!" during her shows this year, but the fact that she can properly rock has probably come as a bit of a surprise to many. Her latest album 'Short Movie' is notable for its loudness as much as the melancholy we've come to expect. There's no deterioration in quality control though.
There was another surprise for us in Bristol as she took to the stage earlier than expected - as part of the support act! Gil Landry from Louisiana is a member of the Old Crow Medicine Show, but has just released his third solo album. His set of acoustic country songs began entirely solo, but soon included a violin player, Marling's drummer and bassist and then the girl herself who duetted with Landry on Take This Body.
Laura's own set was masterfully arranged and executed. Again there was a slow build-up. A mesmerising opening suite of songs saw a gradual increase of personnel onstage as four songs from her most recent two records were interwoven into one seamless piece. Once the audience were allowed to express their appreciation through rapturous applause, the shackles were off. Out came the Rickenbacker and Laura Marling became an unlikely rock chick.
What was particularly interesting was the alternative arrangements of songs she's only just released. I Feel Your Love became swampy blues, while Strange was brash and chaotic. She also seems to have eschewed much of her earlier material as if to make a statement that she has been somehow reborn. Rambling Man and Sophia were both present and correct, but the majority of the set consisted of the new songs in whatever manner she chose to perform them. Some people hate this of course; no doubt the sort of people that went to see Super Furry Animals a couple nights before would have ranted endlessly about the one or two songs they actually knew not being played had the band decided to play new stuff. But while Devil's Spoke, Night Terror, All My Rage and Devil's Resting Place were all noticeable by their absence, I couldn't be disappointed with what Laura chose to do instead. The new songs made the set even more compelling than it might otherwise have been, False Hope especially.
That said, the real highlight for me was an oldie. Goodbye England (Covered In Snow) was beautiful, absolutely divine, spine-tingling. There was also a wonderful outing for her cover of Jackson C. Frank's Blues Run The Game, and the gorgeous Daisy, a song recorded for the new record but relegated to vinyl-only bonus track. I can see why - it's far too 60s folk to fit in with the new identity Laura's forging herself. Closing without an encore (she doesn't believe in them), she left us with the foul-mouthed title-track from said album, even louder and more brazen than the recording.
Laura Marling says very little between songs, appearing shy and self-effacing. Her music, particularly the bold, confident new songs, suggest otherwise though. There's plenty more to come, I'm sure.
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