Aimee Mann

TripF's picture
Submitted by TripF on 30 January 2013 - 7:09pm
Where: 
Royal Festival Hall, London
When: 
28/01/2013
Comment: 
In a skinny biker jacket and boots, Aimee Mann looked different from the Annie Hall look from the last time she was in London. That was at the unfairly maligned IndigO2, which has one great edge over the RFH: no seats. Mann shouldn't be so-self effacing when there’s an audience as blasé as her London one: this music deserves cheerleading. As the set progressed, heavy on the new CD (expected) and 1995's ‘I’m With Stupid’ (less expected) the comfortably-seated, middle-aged audience gave polite applause but nothing more. Mann’s band have the chops, especially bassist Paul Bryan's brilliant harmonies, but seemed to be playing within themselves. The songs, however, do most of the hard work - ‘Soon Enough’ and the oldie ‘Ray’ soared and the obligatory ‘Save Me’ and ‘Wise Up’ were beautifully pared back. At the end I stood to applaud with my neighbour but we were the only ones on our feet, apart from the folks scurrying off to pay the babysitter before the band had even left the stage.
The audience: 
See above. I could have filmed them, without sound, from the stage and convinced you it was a classical show.
Food & drink: 
Two diet cokes and an ice-cream. I’m being good, but not that good.
It made me think: 
There’s nothing like a responsive audience to add to a great performance. I only got one of the two, alas.

Comments

The audience was very responsive. Certainly from where we were.

Carl Parker | 30 January 2013 - 8:40pm.

That's reviews for you. Protracted silence in a place the size of the RFH before the LAST number? The one shouty (drunk) guy standing out a country mile? I'll give you that it may have been more lively where you were but I haven't been to a gig like that since a Cowboy Junkies show, which is the kind of music that merits that kind of hush. I should add I also hate the Friday night chatter-through-everything punter too. Maybe I'm hard to please. But I would have enjoyed a bit more atmosphere, that's all.

TripF | 30 January 2013 - 9:53pm.

from Aimee's Glasgow gig and still buzzing.Audience enthusiastic and appreciative,Aimee keen to chat.Terrific night apart from the usual couple of arseholes talking and actually raising their voices to be heard over the dreadfully inconvenient music.What goes through the heads of these people?

Alastair Purves | 30 January 2013 - 11:34pm.

But each time I see her I seem to come away slightly less impressed. I didn't think that she really went out of the way to involve the audience and the surroundings were not that great for "getting up and getting down" as I believe the youngsters say. I think that I've been a bit spoilt, I saw her back in the mid-90's at the Shepherd's Bush Empire and she and the band were absolutely brilliant.

That said, I thought the guitarist was excellent.

Lord Hammersmith | 31 January 2013 - 6:10pm.