Moddi / Second Hand Poet / Grapefruit Moon [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 7/10/14]
When you spend most of your time scouring the world for exceptional sounds, you’re constantly at risk of contracting the music addict’s equivalent of cabin fever. It’s harsh but true to say that a huge percentage of the music out there either copies time-dulled formulae or lacks the passion and dedication essential in connecting forcefully and meaningfully with a curious listener – and too much time spent in its company can leave you feeling bored, drained, empty, and in need of some kind of escape. Luckily, there are some artists out there who can turn that creeping sense of apathetic torpor around.
Last night, I discovered three such artists – but two of them still have a way to go before they fulfil their own ambitions.
Both Grapefruit Moon and Second Hand Poet showed a lot of promise, but ultimately suffered from a lack of preparation and confidence. The local singer-songwriter scene is home to some brilliantly bar-raising performers – and in order to stand a chance of capturing the hearts and minds of the same audience, up-and-comers need to put some serious work in and be willing to maintain that workload over time. I got the feeling that the difficulties caused by lack of practice were being compounded by a deeper lack of confidence, leading to two sets that the performers themselves were clearly not satisfied with, even though that same lack of confidence was unfounded to begin with.
Grapefruit Moon have some great and ambitious ideas, Second Hand Poet’s final song was absolutely stunning, and the audience was behind them every step of the way. But although every ticket-holder was willing them on, small trips and stumbles led to larger problems and (bar Second Hand Poet’s final song) a lack of artist-audience connection. The good news is that these problems are easily avoidable through applied and dedicated practice – but the bad news is that if you go onstage without having put the time in beforehand, you run the risk of receiving far harsher criticism than this before your set is even over.
Moddi, on the other hand, reaped the rewards of extensive practice and experience with a set that absolutely floored me. I’m a total newcomer to Moddi’s music, but this guy’s music is so raw, genuine, and cathartic that only the most stony-hearted moron could remain unmoved in the face of its graceful yet brutal onslaught. Something in every song moved me in a way I have yet to find words for – despite being someone whose occupation is based around finding words for things. Moddi’s music exists in a space that truly great artists occupy – somewhere beyond the reach of chicken-scratch symbols on paper, or shapes made of pixels on a screen.
Moddi deals with taboos in unusual and beautiful ways, crafting songs that shine with an inner darkness. This set represented a warm and sincere invitation into a fascinatingly unique world – one in which boundaries dissolve and minds are expanded, and listeners leave somehow changed. Not knowing quite how yet, but certain that it’s for the better.
Links / Video
Moddi will be touring the UK until October 11th; check out the remaining tour dates and buy tickets via his website.
Second Hand Poet on Facebook and Twitter.
Grapefruit Moon on Facebook and Twitter.
The Boileroom official website.
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