Noah And The Whale - Royal Albert Hall, London - 16th April 2012 (Live Review)
Thursday, 03 May 2012
Written by Sophie Williams
The Albert Hall is one of those prestigious venues that marks a monumental point in a band’s life. For Noah and The Whale it’s been a long time coming. When their third album 'Last Night On Earth' did well they were finally given the satisfaction they deserved.
This evening, Noah and the Whale can say they’ve well and truly hit the big time. With a hit album and a score of endless plays on Radio One under their belt they’ve got enough material to fill a set worthy enough of this beautiful music hall.
Starting with 'Life is Life', it seems that tonight is a rather tough crowd especially in the seated areas. Meanwhile in the standing gallery way up high in the gods, people are swaying and cheering. Charlie with his cheeky grin stands up on the speakers to sudden applause and cheers. The show is hotting up and everyone is suddenly tapping their feet ready to enjoy the night.
The violins echo around the entire Albert Hall almost revelling in the rebellious nature of playing folk music in a venue famously known as the home of classical music. Artists usually describe performing inside this stunning gold and red hall as terrifying. Tonight Charlie Fink says to the crowd: “It’s been a very long standing ambition for us to be here.”
The band as a whole look incredibly dapper in their shiny suits. Noah and the whale are no rock band but they play some mean folk as proven by the reaction to songs such as 'If There’s Any Love'.
Speaking to the crowd Charlie dedicates 'Blue Skies' to the wonderful weather – it has been a beautiful day and Noah and The Whale are trying to make our day even better. The problem is, it just doesn’t get the crowd moving.
The most well known hits are saved for the end with 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N' and 'Tonight’s the Kind of Night' getting the best reception of the evening, with the entire Albert Hall standing up on their feet, singing along and swaying. Charlie looks over at the crowd and smiles a rather proud smile as he and his band mates exit the stage.
Rounding off the night with a one song encore consisting of 'The First Days Of Spring' it seems an odd choice to leave the night on. Somewhat a step back from the exciting start to the night and somewhat a bit of an anticlimax. Giving a wave and a thank you the band leave the stage to cheers and clapping. As talented as these guys are it seems as if there wasn’t enough oomph to really bring the concert to life tonight. Hopefully they’ll give it a second chance and really blast the roof off.
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Speaking to the crowd Charlie dedicates 'Blue Skies' to the wonderful weather – it has been a beautiful day and Noah and The Whale are trying to make our day even better. The problem is, it just doesn’t get the crowd moving.
