BJORK (Hammersmith Apollo, 14/04/08)


The biggest problem with being such a prolific attender of gigs (apart from the drain on the ol’ bank account) is the inevitability that they stop being as special as they used to be. That’s not to say that I don’t still love live music, far from it, but it’s been a long while since an act truly and utterly blew me away and left me buzzing for days. So it says a lot that two weeks on, I’m still on a high from Bjork’s peerlessly sublime performance at Hammersmith- the best goddamn show I’ve ever been to.

Clad in a headdress inexplicably made of multi-coloured pom-poms, the Icelandic pixie skipped onto stage to the opening strains of Earth Intruders with its tribal percussion and the Timbaland influences; a spell-binding, enchanting introduction to a show that was rarely less than an absolute joy to behold. A flat duet with Anthony Hegarty was the only disappointment in a set bursting from the seams with musical brilliance; Toumani Diabate’s stunning kobe playing on Hope, the bewitching Hunter, the transcendental Who Is It?, beautifully enhanced by her fantastic 10-piece all-female brass section The Wonderbrass. To cap it all, the main lady herself was on top form; a vibrant, vivacious figure whose lack of banter was made up by her enthusiasm and evident love of performing. But if that wasn’t good enough, she decided to crank the amazingness up to 11 with the glorious Hyperballad; overwhelmed by the sheer force of the audience singalong, she gave up the first verse to them before seguing it into the heavy techno-techno-techno of LSO’s Freak.

And as for jaw-dropping spectacle of closer Declare Independence …FUCKING HELL. Absolutely stonking levels of bass, glittery confetti, mass pogo-age, LASERS; well, it’s stuff like this that reminds me why I fell head-over-heels with live music in the first place. Bjork, I know you’re old enough to be my mother but…will you marry me?

(Photos: Deewzed, Vern., Scarydan (Flickr))