{"id":4869,"date":"2021-06-16T20:38:46","date_gmt":"2021-06-16T19:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shindig-magazine.com\/?p=4869"},"modified":"2021-06-16T20:38:46","modified_gmt":"2021-06-16T19:38:46","slug":"live-review-this-is-the-kit-the-barbican-30-05-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/?p=4869","title":{"rendered":"Live Review: This Is The Kit @ The Barbican 30.05.21"},"content":{"rendered":"

As far as May 30th<\/sup>s go, this year\u2019s was truly a reassuring affair according to reviewer Alex Mills. As life begins to take a turn for the relatively ordinary, and optimism seeks to exist, we turn to the outdoors for comfort, and live music (if socially distanced and seated) to remind ourselves once again of life’s little pleasures.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This Is The Kit, captured by Alex Mills<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This Is The Kit, for all their seismic soulfulness, aren\u2019t necessarily the first band you might think of when the sweet croon of the dance floor beckons… yet there\u2019s no denying that in the heat of the post-lockdown sun, a chance to bask in some narrative pluck is a joyous opportunity entirely paralleled to none.<\/p>\n

Performing at The Barbican as part of the venue\u2019s Live From The Barbican<\/em> series \u2013 a string of concerts performed live and live-streamed, throughout the spring\/summer of 2021 \u2013 the notion of sitting down all evening remains still a bit bizarre.<\/p>\n

Where some may have turned to performative spectacle \u2013 a maximised approach to compensate for a year spent in listless transience \u2013 Kate Stables and her band of merry groovers tuned inwards, to radiate outwards. Exuding meditative delight up and over the high heavens of The Barbican\u2019s brutalist architecture, opening number \u2018Bullet\u2019 Proof\u2019, from 2017\u2019s critically acclaimed Moonshine Freeze<\/em>, was about as captivatingly adept an introduction as Alice\u2019s Wonderland was to a restless state of mind.\u00a0A record which touches on themes of change (\u201chow we deal with change and how we relate and live with other people in different situations\u201d), in Moonshine Freeze<\/em> TITK welcomed all into their captivating universe of contemporary folklore, and there could be no better time than the present for a little bit of quirky escapism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks for being brave enough to do this guys,\u201d said Stables, with a beam as broad as the prospects she carries. \u201cWe\u2019re all a bit different now aren\u2019t we… but that\u2019s alright, it\u2019s good to be different.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kate Stables, different is ok. Photo by Alex Mills<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWelcome back,\u201d responded a voice from somewhere in the depths of the back row; and what a welcome return it was.<\/p>\n

Having not had the chance to tour their 2020 released, fifth studio record Off Off On<\/em>, TITK aren\u2019t alone in their stagnancy of traditional band duties and yet, it has to be said that not many bands can claim The Barbican as the location for the return back to semi-normality.<\/p>\n

With the addition of Rozi Plain on bass and backing vocals, TITK transcended all forms of formulaic structure, instead creating a collaboratively respectful expanse of which they themselves, at least in those very moments, appear to be living their best lives. This was more than just a gig \u2013 this was an encounter with seven uniquely individual artists who, when placed within the same space, pluck strings into gold.<\/p>\n

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This Is The Kate, illuminating. Photo by Alex Mills<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite having had a cold in the week building up to the show \u2013 an untimely nuisance that resulted in Stables having to \u201cwhistle\u201d along to the songs \u2013 the evening\u2019s set was a songwriter\u2019s master class in lyrical transcendence.<\/p>\n

Keeping the focus to tracks from Off Off On<\/em>, \u2018Coming To Get You Nowhere\u2019 and \u2018This Is What You Did\u2019 stood out as two consecutive gems which, despite their themes of weighty indiscretion, and some minor performance blips, absolutely yearned to be played live. \u201cMost of you have probably come to our gigs before,\u201d mused Stables mid re-tune. \u201cI think you would\u2019ve been very disappointed had I not supplied for you a bit of a tuning saga.\u201d<\/p>\n