Clean Bandit have only really started to demand attention over the past couple of years, and to be honest I’d never really given them much of a chance before their last single Dust Clears, which ended up being one of the big summer tunes of 2013. However their live performance at The Bodega on the 20th October completely blew me away.
One of the first things they said was an apology for having the small venue; apparently something had gone wrong somewhere along the line and it was meant to be a lot bigger. I have to admit, seeing them at a festival or somewhere like Rock City would have been equally as incredible, but I absolutely loved the intimacy of the Bodega. One minute the floor was empty and the next you were shoulder to shoulder dancing to incredible music with a really easy going and personal atmosphere. Not to mention that the set looked incredible with the geometric background you see on all their releases.
They kicked it off with Rihanna the perfect start to their energetic setlist. Obviously the likes of Dust Clears and Mozart’s House were always going to get the crowd going but occasionally slowing the pace down with a couple of softer songs meant that it was impossible to get bored and you really saw their versatility as a group. A+E was probably their best live song, it had the perfect amount of attitude and I found myself humming it for the rest of the night.
They also treated the audience to their cover of SBTRKT’s Wildfire, which was absolutely insane and the strings added a whole new level to the song. Definitely keep an eye out for it.
To be honest there is really nothing like them out there at the moment. At least, there are no other bands that can make such an array of classical instruments work so well together with an otherwise electronic sound. And their performance was only enhanced by their relationship as a group; there was so much happening on stage whilst they were playing that you could just tell how close they were and how much they were enjoying themselves. It’s always good to see a band enjoy entertaining as much as the audience love watching.
Overall their performance went above and beyond my expectations and I much preferred their live sound to anything I’d experienced from their albums. They are an extremely talented group of musicians and I’d definitely be interested in seeing them again.
Shout out to the supporting band Rainy Milo too. She’s got a gorgeous voice and I expect to be hearing more of her stuff soon.
By Ella Watson
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