It’s almost Summer in Copenhagen, only a few days away from the solstice, and I find myself entering VEGA in broad daylight to experience Aldous Harding in concert.
While waiting for the room to fill out, an interesting opening act takes the stage. They are Vera Ellen, a quartet already known to VEGA for playing here not long ago.
Their tunes are deep, profound and hard and mellow at the same time, a very interesting contraposition. While their set floats between rock, prog and a touch of jazz drums, the last song is something breathtaking: nocturnal, intimate, the deep rough voice of the singer and piano.
The stage is swiftly emptied of all the extra equipment, leaving a semi circular arrangement of instruments: drums, guitar and keyboard, bass and keyboard and keyboard with harp. In the exact center of the stage, a mic stand, a stool and a guitar waiting for Aldous Harding.
The first impression when she takes the stage is that we’re looking at a theatrical performance: her steps are stiff, her moves calculatedly slow; I find my attention captured by her hands, that are saying way more than the words sang.
The concert opens with the first three songs of the new album Train on the Island, although not in the same order of the record. The voice is deep, the movements essential and the crowd attention is completely taken hostage.
As the songs roll from the stage to the adoring crowd, the stiffness that seemed possessing Aldous leaves space to softer moves and a warmer presence on stage, although the interactions with the people in the room are still not found. On Worms the intimate, soft and cozy atmosphere alongside the warm and deep voice triggered an immediate resemblance to a Cat Power in her best days.
The setlist for the night is mainly Train on the Island in its entirety, with a few intermissions from previous albums such as Warm Chris, Designer and Party that fit smoothly and cohesively, so much that there are no decibel peaks when an older tune is played. It seems that the Aldous Harding people love all her songs equally deeply.
I leave the venue right before the encore and while I walk out in the bright night, I finally hear the crowd releasing the most genuine scream of appreciation and gratitude for the beauty they’ve been given the privilege to witness.
