I love the Bodega as a music venue, and Thursday night it was buzzing, with people doing a constant reshuffling dance with each other, to get to the bar, to get to their friends, to get to the music. There was certainly an air of excitement and anticipation about the room for both Rhodes and Amber to play, people were ready. After getting a drink, I found a great little spot just to the side of the stage where I could see and hear well, and just as I was settling down, Rhodes walks onto the stage, picks up his guitar and begins playing. I almost think it’s a soundcheck due to how he didn’t say a word to the audience. I liked that though. Sometimes I find with artists they can often get a bit carried away with trying to psych up the audience, but it was nice that Rhodes was just getting on the stage to play, as if he was sitting on his own sofa.
RHODES is best described as a minimalist artist, appearing on stage with just himself and an electric guitar, it was a stripped back set. His guitar and vocals are heavily reverberated, giving an airy, expansive feel. This technique and his songs reminded me of the XX, it felt very open and honest. I liked the sound of the electric guitar, just gently finger-picked to complement the melodic line, without any heavy strummed chords. It was a calm and enticing opening to what turned out to be a great gig.
He goes on to play ‘Run’, a track which I recognised from researching him online. It’s a beautiful, contemplative song in which he asks; “Why do we run, run, run so far from each other? Is it love, love, love so hard to remember.” The melodic line of this chorus builds and grows with the repeated ‘run’ and ‘love’ lyrics, but then falls, reflecting a feeling of hopelessness. The chorus really pulls on heartstrings and brings tears to my eyes. It is a sad and lonely song, which is further elaborated by his inherent loneliness on stage. Although the songs he sings are sad ballads, they are lovely to listen to, and people around are equally as entranced as I am.
After a few more numbers, Rhodes set ends, and he exits the stage with lots of people applauding and offering their cheers of appreciation. The people milling around the Bodega are now getting more and more excited, people are chatting, laughing, barging past with urgency, and almost bursting with anticipation to see these five Amber boys perform. There is lots of drinking, dancing, hugging, people seem to be really happy despite their indie questionable hair cuts! As I make my way to the bar, I spot Rhodes and tell him I really enjoyed his set. He hands me a tag with a link to a free download of his track ‘Always’ which he also played that evening. I thank and congratulate him again, and then he continues his journey around the room.
AMBER have grown in popularity at an alarming rate, only having been around since the end of 2012 they have just signed a deal with RCA Records, and are about to play their eighth gig ever at the Bodega, with their fourth and fifth having been at Reading and Leeds festival. My reservations about their inexperience is suspended by the excitement of the audience, which is infectious and I find myself getting a little restless at how long it is taking for them play.
When they finally come on stage, everybody is ready for them. They don’t waste any time, and launch into their first song of the evening ‘Heaven’. It is lively and energetic, and the music and their stage presence reminds me of an electronic Mumford & Sons, with harmonies and musical crescendos headed by the strong, determined vocals. The audience dances with them and are really enjoying it, and just seem to want to get more from this band. As Amber move among their 9 song setlist, is becomes apparent that the music does feel to me to be mainly positive, with some downtrodden sections which seem to evolve into positivity again. The most solemn number is ‘Champion’ which is full of angst and does add a really important contrast to the rest of the songs, and I am enjoying this one as it is more my style. Sometimes I feel their songs are a little too ‘happy go lucky’ for my tastes.
I think it must be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of imminent fame if you have just been signed after only 10 months, however, these guys are modest and almost bashful on stage, they are appreciative of their audience and genuinely seem to enjoy being there. They make an effort to connect to the individuals in the audience with eye contact which is endearing, and also makes me feel slightly uncomfortable although not entirely in a bad way. On stage they interact with each other too, and in one track, the pianist jokingly sings into the lead vocalist’s ear in a romantic fashion, which is really nice to see as it added humour to their personality as a band, and showed that they were having fun with it and it wasn’t too serious.
They end their set with an extended version of Noah, their most popular single by far. The audience have been waiting for it, and they are thrilled when the lead singer announces it. As the song begins, the audience begin singing along, and when the chorus hits, the audience erupts into dance. It is clear that they love the music and this is reflected in the band as they seem to really enjoy playing it. The novelty and nature of the music reflects this very exciting time for Amber, which was definitely the key emotion felt in that room. It was a great gig; endearing, energetic and entertaining. The band described the experience to be “a graduation”, and as a graduate, I know that the near future is a rocky and unexpected terrain, and if Amber can navigate it well, they could be very successful indeed.
Live Review by Cassia Helme
