A few weeks ago my girlfriend and I got to see Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts perform live at Bush Hall in London for the first time. We've wanted to see him live either solo or with his band for ages now, but could never make the gigs when he played in the UK before. The wait was well worth it.We were staying in Shepherds Bush for the night at the K-West Hotel, an absolutely lovely place to stay with huge, comfortable rooms. It was our second time there, so we knew what to expect and the area. We hadn't been to Bush Hall before though as all the other gigs we've been to in that area have been at Shepherds Bush Empire.
So we set out early to find the venue and get in line for the show. We knew which direction to walk in, but didn't actually see the venue until we were right outside it, at the point where we were wondering to ourselves if we'd missed it. It's not a very obvious building for a music venue on the outside, nothing imposing like some of the bigger music venues we've been to.
We joined the queue and while we were waiting outside to go in, there was a man talking on his mobile phone, kind of pacing up and down on the pavement near us. We didn't pay him much attention, until he approached a taxi that had pulled up, that when we looked closely, we realised had Joseph Arthur and the band in it! This guy opened the door and the band walked past us, into the side entrance of the venue. We were both pretty shocked, with huge grins plastered on our faces.
Just as the heavens opened, the venue also opened it's doors and let us in, after scrutinizing our tickets from longer than necessary. Maybe it's because they were low numbers, maybe we looked a bit dodgy, who knows. They let us in though and we went to see what the venue was like inside.
The last thing we expected was to see a fairly large room, with tables and chairs in the middle! We checked our tickets again and they definitely said 'standing', maybe this was why they spent so long checking them? There was a small stage at the front, the mixing desk one side at the back and a covered piano on the other. The ceiling was gorgeous with lovely chandeliers.
We decided that it was a bit weird in there and to head to the bar and check out the merchandise stall. We picked up a couple of bargain t-shirts from the really friendly French guy who was setting up and went back into the venue with these and our drinks. There were a couple of chairs at the back, so we sat on them and waited for the magic to happen.
Joseph Arthur strolled out on stage soon after to play a solo set before the Lonely Astronauts joined him. He had a new loop station that he's been playing with this tour, so even though they were old songs, they seemed fresh and exciting. Any fears that when you look forward to something too much that you'll be disappointed were thrown straight out the window.
He played five songs, before the band joined him on stage to create an amazing sonic landscape. The stage was very small and for only four people, they made a huge noise. Throughout the gig, I couldn't decide whether I liked him best solo or with the band. I still can't, so I've come to the conclusion that I must love both equally. The band were so tight and happy on stage, which energized the crowd even more. They played classics from his and their records and some awesome new tunes, including the incredible 'Missy Baba', which I really hope makes it onto the next record.After the band set had finished, Joseph came out for an encore and did a few more solo tunes, even taking requests from the audience to play 'Nuclear Daydream', which was amazing. He was then joined again by the band and finished the night with a second encore and 'You Are Free'.
And then it was all over. We hung around in the venue, while most people filed out, as we knew that the band recorded the gig and would be selling it at the merchandise stall after the gig, but it takes around 10/15 minutes for the cds to be ready. So we were just standing there and the band appear and start walking past us to the merchandise stall. It looked like they were going to be selling the cds themselves!
So we headed to the merchandise stall and a guitar was suddenly passed over to Joseph and we were treated to two amazing acoustic, unplugged songs right there. It was absolutely amazing and really magic. We bought the cd of the gig and got the whole band to sign it after the mini performance and also got Joseph to sign a poster. The whole band were so friendly and down to earth, you could really tell that they cared for their fans. We can't wait to see Joseph wit or without band again. And hopefully soon.
The setlist for the night was:
--- Solo
01 - Leave Us Alone
02 - A Smile That Explodes
03 - Echo Park
04 - Vacancy
05 - All The Old Heroes
--- Band
06 - Spacemen
07 - Even When Yer Blue
08 - Too Much To Hide
09 - In The Sun
10 - When I Was Running Out Of Time
11 - She Says You Lack Imagination
12 - Missy Baba
13 - Famous Friends Along The Coast
--- Solo
14 - Honey And The Moon
15 - Nuclear Daydream
16 - Speed Of Light
--- Band
17 - I Donated Myself To The Mexican Army
18 - Iran
19 - You Are Free
--- Solo (with band joining in)
20 - Slide Away (merch stall)
21 - Black Lexus (merch stall)
I also managed to capture 'Black Lexus' at the merchandise stall, which the band's record label have shared on their Twitter page:
