18 September 2017 (gig)
19 September 2017
When I reviewed this album back in November last year I knew that there were plans to perform it but it has taken until last night to bring those plans to fruition and well worth the wait. The performance of ‘Omerta’ was stirring, unsettling and absolutely magnificent.
From the start, the Old Church in St Pancras was an inspired location. Chilling acoustic and with the music funnelled from the Nave of the church the audience were both involved and blasted from the first notes of the intro.
Paul K used projection to illuminate the tales of the album – he originally told me that “Omertà is the soundtrack to a movie yet to be made. I wrote lots of music for films and TV etc but I am always constrained by the action on the film/program etc. But what if you flipped the whole creative process on its head and created the sonic work first and then produced a film around it? The titles of the tracks become the plot guides for the film. That is how I imagined the “plot” for the album.”
The resulting ‘show’ illuminates the sonic work and he kept the band in shadow for the whole performance so that the audience were able to get a real sense of the numbers as part of a movie soundtrack. That the individual performances were superb really should go without saying but Julian Todd’s bass lines were awesomely fluid and appropriate, allowing the music to flow along his lines.
There were no theatrics from the band and this allowed the projection full reign over the ocular senses.
The string quintet added an acoustic element to what could otherwise have been slightly cold and bringing support singer Corrina Jane on for some eerie and soulful backing vocals added the human element that the music needed.
The whole crowd was whooping and squealing all through but for once it was not intrusive – the individual numbers are so intense that hearing a very human reaction to the end of certain numbers actually added to the music.
This was one of the most remarkable performances I have seen/heard this year. The music was very much as the album, with all its depth and darkness and I understand that Paul K will be touring it in the near future – make an effort to be part of it, you will be well rewarded.
