Saturday, February 11, 2012

Concert Review - Summer Camp at U Street Music Hall

Summer Camp's Elizabeth Sankey making it look easy

We broke out of our routine Thursday to check out the very excellent British dance pop band Summer Camp at U Street Music Hall.

So glad I did, because they put on one helluva a show.

Supporting their 2011 album Welcome To Condale (on Moshi Moshi), the duo took the time to make new fans and impress old ones with energetic, hour long set. They even bounced back from some minor technical difficulty, beating off the front row hecklers with some niceties.

Welcome to Condale is a solid album. The problem sometimes is that it's hard to make a bunch of spare synth noises come to life live. But trading out their 808 for an exceptional drummer and filling the space with Jeremy Warmsley's guitar and Elizabeth Sankey's gorgeous wailing really made it happen.

Take the track I Want You. The stalker dangerous lyrics sound sparse and hollow on the album, which works great. But they reinvented it, making it louder and harder. It simply came alive and standing still was not an option.

Hopefully we'll see them back on these shores soon.


Many Thanks to Chris Vinyard at Big Hassle Media for the tickets

3 comments:

Residential Summer Camps said...

Nice post. I like your post and you style of writting

Walter Tully said...

Oh, Elizabeth looks like she wasn't having a hard time singing… I guess you and everybody else in the crowd gave her more energy and passion! It's good to break out of your routine for times like this. Watching a summer concert can help you get through anything!

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