10 June 2010 (gig)
12 June 2010
(Lulu & the lampshades supporting)
After seeing the Mummers perform on "Later with Jools Holland" sometime ago, I was very excited to see the group perform for my first time live. Camden's Jazz Cafe was absolutely packed by the time the bohemian group were due to take stage and there was massive applause when they came on. They packed onto the stage with their instruments already waiting for them, which include double bass, synthesizer keyboards, violins, drums, and trumpet and started to play the beautifully haunting 'Tale to tell' from their 2009 release by the same name. I noticed though as did others in the crowd that lead vocalist Raissa could not be seen on stage, but her vocals could be heard. For a moment I almost felt insulted that they might be possibly be playing to a backing vocal track, but then she appeared from the front of the stage as out of nowhere as the song majestically elevated.
It wasn't all a pleasant tale to tell though as the sound was evidently not right. I'm not a professional sound tech but the sound mix definitely wasn't right. Sounds were peaking and even on the vocals you could hear the sound cracking. At first I thought I might need to let my ears adjust to the volume and moved into different places across the venue to see if the sound improved, even sitting on the bar at the back because the place was packed. After one of the first songs someone in the crowd shouted "it's too loud!" to which Raissa replied "loud is good" but it wasn't in this case. I've been to rock gigs where "loud is good" but I wouldn't expect it from a group like the Mummers if it meant risking the sound quality, or at any gig for that matter.
On a positive note though they performed some new material they've been working on in their hiatus such as 'Fade Away'. A triumphant elevating song which got a positive responce from the crowd, and the group performed with enthusiasm. You can tell they really enjoy and love the music they perform, and at the end of the day, the Mummers are making some of the most unique new music to be coming out of the UK. They ended the night playing 'March of the dawn' which made the night for me. I look forward to seeing them again in a bigger venue and the sound spot on!
Setlist
Intro
Fade Away
(Segue) into..
Lorca
Wonderland
(Segue)
Wake me up
Sleepyhead
Nightbus
Driving Home
Place for us
Heaven
Stuck
-----
Cherry
March
