Everything Everything at Alexandra Palace
Following the surprise release of new EP A Deeper Sea, genre-benders Everything Everything have recently travelled the UK on tour, but none of their previous shows have been in a venue as grand as North London’s iconic Alexandra Palace. For what was the band’s biggest concert in the capital city, they delivered a blisteringly good performance.
Opening with the title track from their last album A Fever Dream, the four-piece took their positions, with lead vocalist Jonathan Higgs sitting on the keyboard to begin. As the song reached its climax, he launched out of the chair and stormed to the front microphone, grabbing it and pointing it towards the audience to complete the lyrics. His frenetic energy was infectious, and the excitable crowd kept up with his pace. The singer’s orange coat stood out from the other blue-clad musicians, but Everything Everything all shared the strobe-heavy limelight with contributions on guitar, backing vocals and a percussion pad – as well as drums.
The die-hards had turned up for this one; they knew the setlist in advance and had memorised the melodies right down to the high note that few voices besides Higgs’s can achieve. When it was time to sing the nostalgia-tinged Distant Past (“Take me to the distant past, I want to go back”), the concert-goers had never been more present.
Fans shouting for Breadwinner – just before the track’s drums kicked in – justified the Manchester band’s decision to seldom take a minute to ask how everyone was doing – or even observe the obligatory custom of providing anecdotes that detail the making of the music –, instead opting to play their tunes in a continuous stream. 90 minutes of uninterrupted art rock – irresistible to dance along to – was a beatific experience for both newcomers and day-ones, making it perfect for a Saturday night.
“This one is off the first album, I never imagined I’d perform it at a place like this”, announced the frontman prior to a rendition of QWERTY Finger – a number from Man Alive that wasn’t released as a single, making it a peculiar choice to be that album’s sole cut in this set. The loyal individuals facing him seemed as if they knew this day would come, and gave the song the sort of reaction typically reserved for the biggest hits. Everything Everything can rest easy about their Ally Pally ambitions: they came, they played, they conquered.
Musanna Ahmed
Photos: Miguel de Melo
For further information and future events visit Everything Everything’s website here.
Watch the video for Desire here:
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