Slow Club @ the Union Chapel – A lament with tears of joy.

I heart Slow Club.

There I finally came out and said it, I HEART SLOW CLUB! Tom digs Bon Iver lots, it’s clear to see and we all know it, and I would say I have a similar relationship with Slow Club. Except instead of going to a shack in the woods Charles and Rebecca went to the fair and went down the helter-skelter, but while listening to Leonard Cohen, and as they thump off the slide they collide with guitars and drums; the resulting sound is wondrous.
I’m practically stalking the duo having seen them 4 times in the past year, and the last time being this Monday at the Union Chapel in Islington. It had a Christmas theme what with it being on the 1st day of Xmas and therefore finally the vindication we annually wait for to start gorging ourselves with mince pies. Foolishly I thought the name of the venue was just a name, instead it was an actual chapel that uses events to ensure its coffers are nicely filled for repairs and community work so when I arrived, I queued and took off my scarf and gloves. This was definitely a bad move because chapels don’t tend to be insulated and although I thought the venue was great with a gentle flickering of candles on the upper tier; impressive stain-glass windows and a dominating pulpit, I was quite cold at times. However, this was directly proportional to the acts, the guy between Jay Jay Pistolet and Slow Club was so slow and uninspiring he actually dampened my metabolism and sent me into uncontrollable shivers until Slow Club came along to fill me with warmth from my ears to my toes. I quite liked sitting on the pews and it was appropriate with the Christmas theme and it was all very civilised with the people serving tea much more visible than the rumoured bar, and is there anything better than tea and Slow Club?

As I mentioned I have seen Slow Club a few times, the first time was at the Albert Hall (they had a lady come and play a saw for a few tracks), it was great and I wish their set had lasted a lot longer because they supported Hot Club de Paris and they paled in comparison. The second time was at an Upset the Rhythm event which I think was my favourite gig of theirs because it was so small and they seemed so disorganised and confused about what was going on. They spent a large amount of time telling tales of their recent woes and misadventures as well as taking requests, it didn’t feel so much a set but more some friends messing about on instruments. The third was when I realised Slow Club might break my heart, like how a parent’s heart is broken when their child flies the nest so to speak. It was there in Birmingham that I realised what I hoped before would be realised, Slow Club would become really popular. Yes, I know I come off as a music snob a lot of the time, and that this is a terrible character trait to possess but I was glad they would become well known because Slow Club make me happy, but at Birmingham I began to fear the consequences of this, they were on a stage that was high up. They weren’t at eye level, and their banter seemed far off, and it felt that they were now a more popular and therefore too cool to be my friend…  But they played a whole myriad of new songs which were excellent and raised the hopes that they would be releasing an album soon. I particularly liked There Is No Good Way to Say I’m Leaving You, where Charles seemed at first a little sweaty until I realised he was having a somewhat emotional time up there, which pretty much melted my annoyances at the previous support (I seem to be fairly disappointed with bands playing with them, bar Jay Jay Pistolet who I enjoyed verily and have recently released an EP). This was around the time I began to think I might not always like the band’s live sets.

Thus when I rode up to the Union Chapel, I’ll admit I entered with a certain degree of trepidation, uncertain whether I would like what saw, but knowing I’d love what I heard. Although the venue was bigger and I was the furthest from the pair I’d ever been, I liked the atmosphere, pews and tea lend themselves well to Slow Club. Slow Club were… Slow Club, like what I wanted, they played a delectable mix of old and new songs, many of the new ones I heard, although have emo-esque titles (There is No Good Way to Say I’m Leaving; Sorry For All the Doom; Everything Doesn’t Have to be Beautiful) have a great Leonard Cohen feel: they also seemed way more relaxed (maybe my apprehension felt at Birmingham was due to a bad day and I should stop worrying with my little limerant ways) and back to their chatty selves. I like it when band’s talk about their days, and should they reference Delicatessen and Step Up 2 the Streets, all the better. Their saw-skilled friend contributed again which I liked, but what I did not was when the members from the other bands came on for a few songs, it was like Dylan going electric all over again, well not at all like that. I preferred it when it’s just them, not that the other guys didn’t do the songs justice, I was just a little surprised and thought that the other people were superfluous, but maybe it was just a one off for the Christmas spirit and I should stop being so analytical and get over it. At some point ‘hymn’ sheets with the lyrics to Let’s Fall Back In Love were passed about and they ended with getting everyone standing and singing together, which was obviously fitting and made me warm inside; I sang terribly.

As I said, Slow Club’s debut album is definitely coming soon, and it will be excellent if the live renditions of their new material is anything like what the recordings will be with some of their older songs interweaved.
If you’ve heard Slow Club before, you’ll probably have heard Slow Club Summer Shakedown, but what you might not have heard is that on 8th December they are releasing a new single ‘Christmas TV’, which I like and has a nice and not too cliché Xmas feel to it. I urge you all to go out and purchase it, so that maybe the Christmas singles chart will have an entry that is both Christmas related and not terrible: damn you the X-Factor.

I liked Monday’s gig, and I definitely still heart Slow Club; I’m a lot more relaxed about where the band is going, so long as they stick to playing live just the two of them, and look forward to their upcoming releases. I also realise I must come off more than slightly crazy in the post, I am well aware Slow Club don’t have to do my bidding and that maybe I should find some people to vent these feelings because it’s not healthy to have limerant objects that are bands – but like I said: like all good limerant objects Slow Club make happy when I listen to them and I get scared that at some point they won’t anymore.

Filed under: Articles, Gigs, Jay Jay Pistolet, Limerance, Slow Club, Union Chapel