It was so good to be at The Joy Formidable’s gig at Colchester Arts Centre.
They really set the place alive - sonic waves of rock filling the Medieval roof and arches.
The venue is small and intimate with a superb sound so was perfect. (As is the fine selection of beers!)
They kicked off with ‘The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade’ from their excellent first album The Big Roar. They also finished the set with a number off that album ‘The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie’. Finally they finished at the end of the encore with ‘Whirring’ from that same album producing a whirlpool of sound which left us ecstatic.
Many bands use their tour to showcase a new album, but not The Joy Formidable. They played only 3 numbers from their new album Hitch which came out earlier this year (The Last Thing on my Mind, Liana and Radio of Lips) and so the gig was a superb smorgasbord of their rock numbers to date.
They were on top form and looked so pleased to be performing for us. Ritzy was leaping about the stage all smiles and it really came across that the whole band were enjoying the gig and playing for us.
They are only a 3 piece band but sound so much bigger. A blitz of fuzzy guitars sounds from Ritzy accompanying her impressive rock diva vocals. Base arpeggios from Rhydian and strong drumming from Matt. The sounds are multi layered, in harmony with powerful jamming rhythms.
I first saw them at Reading Festival in 2009. I didn’t know them then, but was well impressed. Since then I’ve seen them at a number of Festivals but not at a gig. After this performance I’ll certainly be looking out for their future tours!
Ken
Setlist
The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade
Little Blimp
Passerby
Wolf’s Law
Ostrich
Cradle
The Last Thing on my Mind
Liana
The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie
Encore
Radio of Lips
The Leopard and the Lung
Whirring
