I was among the many who were ecstatic to hear this time last year that Lush were reforming. They've had a successful year with a North American tour and appearances at many European festivals (see YouTube). They restarted things with appearances at the Roundhouse in Camden Town and then, sadly, the band came to an end with a final gig at Manchester Academy last Friday night.
They express the need to return to friends and families. We'd all rather they continued but respect their decision. It was a bonus to get some new music from them this year as well as some incredible performances.
Emma Anderson and Miki Berenyi led the band through a wonderful set, with songs that cascaded form melancholic fluffiness through to anger and passion. Miki dedicated 'Ladykillers' to Trump as he epitomised the misogynist men it was first written about- she joked they would rename it 'Pussygrabbers'. She also joked that her daughter had shown no loyalty by choosing to see Savages at Brixton Academy that night rather than support her mum's final Lush gig.
They sounded as sublime as when I first saw them live at Glastonbury in 1990, where they were on the rise but only had a Saturday lunchtime slot. Thanks Lush, you'll always be up there as one of my favourite ever bands - and this was the best gig of the year for me (and I've been fortunate to see over 80 acts so far, so that's saying something).
I was swept on a tide of emotion and energy, tripping on the combination of Emma's amazing guitar playing and backing vox and Miki's powerful lyrics of cynicism, anger, loss and human nature. Rarely has a band moved me so much, from hope and lilting happiness to a shared despair of humanity. 25 years on, their music sounds as fresh and powerful as ever.
Linking with Our World Tuesday.
They were a great band.
ReplyDeleteA long lasting band too.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shot, lights and angle.
ReplyDelete