Two tours within the space of 6 months? I believe Miss. Marling is spoiling me. 'The Wisdom of Spring Tour' takes place within some of the larger venues around the UK and tonight Marling will take on the Manchester Apollo, a 3500 capacity venue right in the heart of the city. With my mind still fresh from the cathedral show, I entered a little worried that this may be completely the wrong place for such an intricate artist, but Laura being Laura, she managed to prove me wrong.
The night started out with Mr. Pete Roe supporting who I’ve wanted to see for a long while. Already a part of Laura's band line up, he just has that good old fashioned Englishman-who-sings-in-a-pub aura about him which I love. After he finished his short but sweet set we slipped out to get a drink (the advantages of allocated seating) and ended up bumping into him by the merch stand which resulted in us having a chat. He was a complete gentleman to my friend and I and he even ended up passing me a signed EP. A lovely guy all round.
Not long after we'd just sat back down, it was time for Laura herself. I honestly don’t know how she does it but she somehow manages to keep getting better and to keep on stunning me. The set-list included a lot of my favourites, which is something that doesn't tend to happen very often (unless you're lucky) and it made the whole show feel a bit more personal - my highlight being a solemn rendition of 'Blackberry Stone' that would have tugged at even the coldest of hearts.
Since Laura is known for usually being pretty ambiguous, it was a surprise for her to give a rare insight into the meaning behind one of her songs ('Alas, I Cannot Swim') and how it was inspired by an Iranian poem that her godfather used to read to her when she was a little girl. It felt significant in some way, since we got to see a small glance into a personal life that she never really touches upon.
The biggest change for me was the addition of a light show. For me, Marling needs nothing more than to just stand there and sing and she would captivate anybody but the new addition of the lights and projectors took the whole thing to another level. Barren trees projected onto the walls behind her for some songs, and things like grey buildings during 'Alpha Shallows' that burst into white lights just as Laura sings 'we are basic light' went a way to making up for the scenery and atmosphere that somehow felt lacking compared to the cathedral shows.
New song 'Pray For Me' (which has already become one of my favourites) got one of it's first outings of the tour and made me even more eager for what was to come next for Laura Marling. After final song 'I Speak Because I Can' she exits the stage to another standing ovation - something I would say she is pretty used to by now. She may not have set the world on fire tonight, but thanks to the fact Laura is one of those rare artists gifted with the ability to make any sized venue feel like an intimate show, it still felt (in a word I all too often associate with her) special. Leaving, I feel somewhat sad that it might be a while before I manage to see her again, but word is that Laura has already started work in the studio on her newest record, and frankly, judging from the new songs, it's going to be worth the wait.
New song 'Pray For Me' (which has already become one of my favourites) got one of it's first outings of the tour and made me even more eager for what was to come next for Laura Marling. After final song 'I Speak Because I Can' she exits the stage to another standing ovation - something I would say she is pretty used to by now. She may not have set the world on fire tonight, but thanks to the fact Laura is one of those rare artists gifted with the ability to make any sized venue feel like an intimate show, it still felt (in a word I all too often associate with her) special. Leaving, I feel somewhat sad that it might be a while before I manage to see her again, but word is that Laura has already started work in the studio on her newest record, and frankly, judging from the new songs, it's going to be worth the wait.
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