Cate Le Bon is, probably, your favourite musician’s favourite musician. Having American indie stalwarts such as St Vincent, Wilco, Horsegirl, Deerhunter, and Kurt Vile behind her, as well as the network of the incredible music scene burgeoning from Cardiff’s Pontcanna suburb, is a testament to Le Bon’s talent as not only performer, but crafter of music. With Le Bon featuring on both Gwenno and ex-boyfriend-slash-tour-opener H Hawkline’s most recent albums, and having Welsh icon Gruff Rhys‘ support, she is undeniably popular amongst fellow artists and her own fans alike.
The first set of the night came from Dutch songwriter Robyn Kester. Despite there only being about twenty people in the crowd of the 1,300-capacity venue, Kester handled it very well with stage banter about the similar reputations of badly behaved Brits and Dutchmen abroad, anecdotally telling everyone about her flight in to the country on the morning of the gig. Kester’s set had a real sense of intimacy to it, creating a full and vibrant soundscape with just a guitar and a sample pad. It was great to witness what could be done with just a few pedal loops and backing vocals.
A similar, and equally interesting, atmosphere was created by Le Bon’s frequent collaborator Huw Evans, who performs under the name H Hawkline. Hawkline has previously opened for fellow-ex-girlfriend Aldous Harding and headlined sets at Rough Trade ‘in-stores’, so it was already clear that the audience were in for a treat.
Before performing, Hawkline arrived on stage and meekly introduced himself to the audience with a “hi everyone, I’m Huw”: a very endearing start to the set indeed. Standout cuts from Hawkline’s 2023 standout album, Milk For Flowers, such as the album’s title track, as well as fan favourites ‘Plastic Man’ and ‘It’s a Living’, were given a breath of new life with a stripped-back acoustic arrangement, assisted by only the use of a tape recorder.
‘Suppression Street’ also benefited from the addition of acoustic guitar to its production, and the two new tracks performed showed real promise: whatever Hawkline does next, it’s sure to be exciting. The only thing missing was ‘Athens at Night’, a song of Hawkline’s that is always a joy to hear, whether live or in its original form. It was a great start to the night, and the crowd – those who had bothered to turn up, anyway – were adequately warmed up. If this was the support, Le Bon had a very stable foundation indeed.
‘Simplicity is key’ seemed to be the mantra of the evening, with Le Bon and her band’s set only featuring the venue’s lighting and a lightbox on stage, making the artist’s ease at creating a transfixing, ethereal environment all the more impressive.
Le Bon’s vocals shone especially on ‘Daylight Matters’ and ‘Mother’s Mother’s Magazines’, from 2019 release Reward, and ‘About Time’, a standout from this year’s Michelangelo Dying. There is no denying that Michelangelo Dying is one of the year’s strongest, and most intriguing, releases, but the lack of time apart between the album’s release two weeks before the gig and the gig itself was noticeable, with the crowd’s energy noticeably peaking on songs from Le Bon’s past albums.
That being said, with the new songs, there was a noticeable depth to Le Bon’s voice, and intricacies in their arrangements that weren’t immediately evident on the album’s release, but were easier to notice live. The sax on ‘Body as a River’ and marimba on ‘Pieces of My Heart’ also illustrated Le Bon’s musical ear and talent as a multi-instrumentalist and composer, even if she wasn’t personally performing those instruments on the night itself. Hawkline appears on the backing vocals on ‘Body as a River’ on the album version, so not having him back on stage felt like a missed opportunity.
Whilst the show was a great showcase of Le Bon’s latest album, it was on older tracks like ‘Moderation’ and ‘Home To You’ where the set felt strongest, and the crowd felt most on board, which could have been different if the tour wasn’t so immediate after Michelangelo Dying’s release. ‘Home To You’ would have also been the perfect set closer, which made following tracks ‘Remembering Me’ and ‘I Know What’s Nice’ feel like a lag before the inevitable encore.
There was a strange paradox of immense relief and disappointment upon hearing the addictive kick and strum of final closer ‘Harbour’. Le Bon was as transfixing as ever, but it was hard not to think that the cherry on top missing from the set was ‘Are You With Me Now’?. It makes sense why Le Bon wouldn’t prioritise songs with big streaming numbers over her most recent artistic statements and the development that has come with those, but it felt a waste of the live band’s three guitars to not have heard that adrenaline rush of a riff the song has. Still, there’s always next time.
