Wintersleep – The Portland Arms, Cambridge, 13/05/09

19 May 2009, 09:00 | Written by Rich Hughes

(Live)

Rumours abound at the moment that The Portland Arms could be due for demolition. If this is the case, they’re going to have to either get through me to get to the place, or demolish it with me still inside. After a night like tonight, in one of the most intimate and great sounding venues I’ve ever been to, it would be a catastrophe not only for Cambridge, but for the whole of Eastern England.

Tonight, Nova Scotia’s indie darlings Wintersleep are in town. After our own impressive review of their latest album, I couldn’t turn down the chance to see them for myself. And what a live act they were. To say they absolutely KILLED live, would be an understatement. From the first rumbling chords to the ferocious closing encore, we were treated to a band that are completely in tune not only as a band, but with their audience as well.

The vocals of Paul Murphy, which come across on the Kermet the Frog side of things on the albums, sound fleshed out and carries more punch live. In fact the vocal harmonies in general are fantastically tight and resonate perfectly in the small confines of the Portland. Tonight Wintersleep sound much more like Band of Horses live – tight, focused rock with the guitars chiming in unison, the pounding drums driving the rhythms directly into your skull. Even my least favourite track on Welcome To The Night Sky, the rather ponderous ‘Archaeologists’, sounds full of a vigor and focus that’s sadly lacking on the album.

It was one of those evenings where the entire room was filled with an energy that reflected and flowed through the crowd and the band. It created a fantastic feedback loop that only served to make the evening even better. It felt as though the band pushed every ounce of their being into what was being played. Murphy might have been a bit of tongue poker whilst he was concentrating on playing, but that absorption, rather than coming across as being remote, was more a statement of enjoyment and viewed as a singular piece of concentration on giving it everything.

I was recently lamenting the lack of success that Welcome To The Night Sky has got in this country. I don’t know whether it was released at the wrong time, or there wasn’t enough backing for it, but for a band that sound like The National and develop great music and lyrics, it’s a great shame. However, if they continue to play live shows like this and continue to channel the aggression and musicianship they displayed this evening, they’ll soon start making headlines about what an awesome and impressive live band they are.