Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker: husband and wife vocal duo, the founding members of Low and both standing before me on the Koko stage. The immense and iconic three piece from Duluth, Minnesota – whose minimalist arrangements have led critics to peg them 'slowcore' – are usually pretty serious whilst performing. At one of the last shows I saw them do, Sparhawk confessed to 'hating touring', and then there's that business of breaking his guitar at the End Of The Road festival (after a 'crappy day') but tonight they are positively jubilant.
'Hello friends' he begins. 'Tonight's show is dedicated to John Peel, (cue hysterical national treasure cheering) and the most powerful man in the world.' Hanging on every word, the Koko crowd lean in to hear who will be labelled such. Will it be God? The band are famously religious. Obama? Santa Claus? Then, an intrusive voice from front left in possession a distinct and out of place garage rudeboy twang: 'Get on with the fuckin' music!' Instantly the entire crowd turn on him: 'FUCK OFF!' And the moment is ruined. Sparhawk doesn't complete his sentence, but begins to play instead.
Ah, Low. Words which accurately describe their sound include: beautiful, heavenly, chilling, soft, powerful, heartbreaking, spine-tingling and awesome. Listening to them live is like being bathed in a piercing white light. Parker and Sparhawk's harmonies are strikingly beautiful – their voices complement each other so perfectly: clear, low, piercing.
Tonight Ida are supporting, a band from New York who share an affinity with Low in both style and arrangement. Ida are a three piece with a similarly sparse sound, sensitive male-female harmonies provided by married couple Liz Mitchell and Daniel Littleton - although their sound is created with a guitar, a violin and a harmonium and uses no percussion. This is their UK debut and they're obviously stoked to be playing here with a band who they're mates with.
Low play an excellent collection of songs, old and new, the amazing 'Murderer', 'The Great Destroyer', ('When it finally takes us over, I hope we float away together') before beginning the Christmas show. Low fans are a special breed, there's an unspoken empathy, an agreement
to stay quiet and people's eyes look narcotically half-lidded because
everyone is so chilled out. Anyone who can is sitting.
Halfway in, as the Christmas show begins, Ida join Low on stage - a union that makes for an even more powerful, layered and building sound. 'Just Like Christmas' – complete with bells, snow and cheer – effectively declares the Christmas season open for the crowd. It's lovely. They do a cover of an old reggae Christmas song, 'Last Snowstorm of the Year', 'Come they told me,' and a load of other Christmassy numbers.
The whole room is sharing the feeling; and the band, uncharacteristically, are loving the audience. 'You know we love you' Sparhawk says as he returns to the stage for the encore. 'And if you'd all take the time to pray a little, let some light into your lives, you'll know it when you see it'. This falls on a deathly silence, 'You don't have to' Mimi quickly interjects, sensing the change in atmosphere. The first bars of 'When I Go Deaf' are strummed softly as they begin their final song. This is one of my favourites. It's basically a song about getting old and giving up music (because you're deaf) in favour of love-making.
'When I go deaf, I won't even mind. I'll be alright, yeh I'll be just fine... I'll stop writing songs, stop scratching out lines. I won't have to fake, and it won't have to rhyme. And we will make love.'
Sparhawk's final 'Everything's gonna be alright' before he exits is the words of a man trying to convince himself, but it's also complicit – and inclusive – everything will be alright for us ALL.
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