Laura Marling Conway Hall, London 23/11/10
3/5
By: Krystina Nellis
They say you can judge a performance by the quality of the audience’s silence. Going on the deathly hush running through each song of Laura Marling’s gig tonight, then, it was one of the best sets of the year.
The mostly young and folkie audience stood in silent rapture throughout the hour-long show, save for huge applause after each song. All, that is, except for the drunken fellow down the front, engaging Marling in good-natured banter, at one point responding to a quiet heckle with ‘See, parents?’ Alas, only the pit-dwellers were privy to whatever prompted what amounted to Marling’s biggest outburst of the evening.
Conway Hall, a cavernous yet intimate space with its old-school wooden decor, is in many ways the perfect venue for someone of Marling’s considerable talents. There was definitely a ‘this is a bit special’ vibe in the air with the audience so reverent towards Marling and her band, and Marling similarly respectful towards the venue and attentive crowd within it - all a bit of a love-in, really.
Opening with ‘Devil’s Spoke’, Marling and her band moved effortlessly through the bulk of recent album I Speak Because I Can, via a few detours to the highlights of debut Alas, I Cannot Swim’ such as ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Tap At My Window’. They’re not the kind of songs you can necessarily sing along to anyway, so it’s no surprise the audience paid more attention to listening than joining in. But when listening to a voice like Marling’s tell the stories contained within her lyrics, would you really want to get involved anyway?
Musically and vocally, Marling didn’t put a note wrong the entire evening. Her songs certainly borrow heavily from traditions of storytelling and folklore, and those stories are delivered expertly, with undeniable passion being poured into the writing. But you can’t help but wish that every now and again she might just let that fervour be reflected in her vocals.
Intriguingly, it’s on some of the newer, untitled songs that Marling allows a bit of that feeling and spark to shine through. Said newbies all follow in the same vein as the slower, more secluded nature of I Speak Because I Can. The fact that there’s a noticeable change in the vocals to these songs hints at Marling possibly being less afraid to reveal more of herself on the upcoming third album, rather than finding literary figures to focus her attentions on.
A Laura Marling gig is never going to be a riotous one. That said, her musical force is quiet but deadly, and at its finest this is reflected in her live show. If you want a showboating rock stars, you won’t find one here; just great songs, written and sung beautifully.
Artists in this article: Laura Marling
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