Himalayas / The Garage / London

A trip to the capital down the East Coast Mainline and out on the Victoria Line to The Garage in Islington to catch Welsh rockers the Himalayas on tour. I was really looking forward to this one partly because its at the brilliant Garage, but I’ve not seen any of the bands live before – always an exciting new venture !

First up on stage is Juju. Dressed in black there’s something of the Raven Gray gothic persona, and her sound is a mix of influences from PJ Harvey to Florence and the Machine. Her sound casts swirling mixes of alt-rock, emotive dark pop and electrically charged vocals.

Always difficult when you’re first up, but I thoroughly enjoyed JuJu’s performance.

Next up are Luna Bay. The trio from London are out to impress their hometown tonight and the set is packed with energy and purpose. Missing bass payer Sam Penniston tonight, Connor O’Mara (vocals & guitar), Rye Milligan (lead guitar), and Alex Ross (drums) deliver a powerful set. They fill the void left by Sam’s bass so effectively, using strong melodies to fill the void.

They open with the track You which is bright and breezy and demonstrates Connors vocal skills. Its rich in mood and intensity. Luna Bay have an effortless interaction with the crowd, at one point Connor asks who has travelled the furthers and is aghast to find someone in the crowd from Tennessee ! They work the crowd with ease, and really create a great, relaxed atmosphere.

The tracks are dynamic, rich with textures and intricate melodies and some songwriting and lyrics.

One of the many highlights was the energetic Better, a rich and uplifting track which had the crowd swaying and dancing along. They closed the set with the equally fantastic Call The Night. As with all their material tonight, the delivery was tight and professional, but it had an added raw energy to it which just brought the room alive.

Top stuff

Finally, it was time for the Welsh rockers Himalayas to hit the stage. The tour is in support of their new album “Bad Star”.

JuJu and Luna Bay had done a great job building the atmosphere, and Himalayas were welcomed onto the stage with loud cheers and shouts, as the first notes of Beneath The Barrel rang out - the place was bouncing, and the atmosphere electric.

And the energy levels didn’t drop from there, followed by Alone and Hung Up, the band delivered some blistering melodies, powerful hooks and deep heavy bass/drum beats that thumped hard against your chest.

Although in support of the new album, the setlist is a great mix of old favourites and new material, and the two mix and intertwine perfectly, with the new material fitting in perfectly. The likes of Leave This Place and Somebody Else are more raw in feel, with an emotional depth tahst almost palpable, whilst others, such as Twisted Reflections bring the noise, edhy and more raw with some blistering guitar riffs.

The delivery was spot on, every track better than the last, but one highlight was when Thank God I’m Not You started up, and the crowd just upped it another gear. Everyone was bouncing, arms in the air, shouting along to the lyrics, it was quite a sight ! Alongside the old favourites, the new material went down a storm too with tracks like Afterlife and Heavy Weather fitting in perfectly. Perhaps the highlight of the new tracks live was What If….? Which got an amazing reception from the crowd with it’s infectious, almost chaotic beat (also check out the brilliant Wargasm Remix !)

The main set closed with another new track A Brand New God, and left the crowd chanting for more. It didn’t take long for them to return for a three song encore, starting with Cave Paintings, which slowed the pace somewhat, ready to build to a chaotic end to the encore. A moodier more mellow track it allowed us to breathe and relax for a brief moment, before we’re hit hard once again with Flatline, building the tempo once more with a pounding drum beat and some old school metal guitar riffs and a truly infectious chorus for the crowd to sing along to.

The night drew to a close with the excellent From Hell To Here, the title track from their debut album. And the encore trio did indeed reach its chaotic and intense finale. From Hell To Here is a raw, gritty and powerful anthem of a track. Everyone is up and cheering and loving every note and word.

Having not seen Himalayas, Luna Bay or JuJu live before, I didn’t know what to expect tonight. I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Each one was excellent, and the next built on that to take the show to the next level. Himalayas were on outstanding form, the quality of their musicianship was evident, as was their togetherness / tightness as a unit. The new album material fits so well into the live set, and as we all headed for the Tube home everyone had beaming smiles from ear to ear. You can’t ask for much more really !

Setlist

Beneath the Barrel

Alone

Hung Up

Leave This Place

Somebody Else

Twisted Reflections

Thank God I'm Not You

Afterlife

Heavy Weather

Nothing Higher

Surrender