A Silver Mount Zion - London Union Chapel - 22/1/01
4/5
By: Toby L
Featuring 'three members of Toronto's Godspeed You Black Emperor!' and being 'superb' were the enlightening pieces of info that were received two days prior to this show, our first of 2001, to describe this band, which we hadn't heard before tonight. Obviously, quality journalism has to battle on against the elements, but even descriptions this vague made us question whether we should get a new job. However, facing the potentially freaky conditions that could have occurred tonight nonetheless, rockfeedback felt secure in the knowledge that we were protected within the cosy walls of the vast Union Chapel. But as soon as A Silver Mount Zion crept onstage, even the salvation of this church couldn't save us from what was to occur.
The sound is, as expected, Godspeed-based; admittedly, that can be anticipated, what with a third of the members being present onstage, but it voyages into more classical territory courtesy of the strings having a more prominent part to play in the mighty rumble of noise it all combines to produce. The guitars are more edgy and bassy than you'd expect and this provides a kind of listening-compendium to the tinkling - and occasionally thumpy - piano-play and high-pitched violins. However, this is not enough for the band to get comfortable with: a loud, electrical hum occurs due to instruments not being plugged in properly and serves to deafen the congregation. In addition, a photographer at the foot of the stage must have taken just one snap too many because it prompts a member of the ensemble to plonk down his guitar and wave frantically at him to make him stop. In spite of the strops, positive signs of their professionalism prevail as they carry on regardless, delivering compositions on an enchanting, haunting and often moving scale.
But it stops at one point so the 'shaggy-haired one' (Efrim), as someone next to us puts it, takes to the front of the stage to exchange some light-hearted banter with us. Yeah, right he does. Sitting there for five minutes murmuring away into a tilted mic-stand, only a few words are caught by the audience from his Canadian dialect, namely, 'And, you know how you get those windows... And they're not fully open, and there's just a small gap...' Yes - now you can see why some people just couldn't handle it and what had started as a sophisticated affair felt more like a football match by this time, with hecklers bellowing into the pitch black corners of the hall, 'Get on with it!' They soon understand the point being made by this hardly patient of audiences and announce, 'Well, this one is more articulate than words...' People start to laugh, unable to picture how it could be the case and Efrim continues aloofly, 'Yeah, well, maybe.'
Another stunning part of viewing the show was the main character's voice: he's obviously hardly a Pavarotti, but his vocals convey all the heart-break and sincerity needed for you to feel his pain, especially as he yells, 'I wasn't well,' into a mist of stringed instruments and rhythmic double bass. It's often too much to deal with when you have your eyes open and so you let them close and allow your mind to float away with the sounds to see what images are conjured up within your skull. In this sense, their music is like a soundtrack: possibly for a motion picture, or - more specifically - your soul.
Artists in this article: A Silver Mount Zion
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