When someone first suggested seeing VNV Nation I wasn’t at all sure they were going to be my cup of tea. I’ve always been slightly sceptical about live electronic music in anywhere other than a night club setting.
The audience seemed nicely hyped up and ready to have fun from the start largely thanks to the support band Solar Flake. VNV Nation came on stage to a warm applause. The first thing lead singer, Ronan, mentioned was his sore throat and under par vocals… my immediate thought was one of resignation, I’d more or less written this band off.
However, I was wrong and pleasantly surprised. Ronan certainly didn’t sound like he’d been on a 4 day whisky binge, and he moved around the stage like a whirling dervish. He was backed by some impressive pyrotechnics and LED lights of VNV in letters and abstract images that loosely supported the music.
Most of their songs start with a simple catchy hook and added layers of dance beats that gradually built and lead into an anthemic chorus. Ronan acted the role of showman nicely, striking an instant rapport with the audience, encouraging them to dance and sing along. Notable songs that got the audience fired up being ‘Space and Time’ and ‘Resolution’ both from their latest album ‘Automatic’.
All of a sudden the tempo slowed down, the lights dropped and the duo broke into ‘Illusion’ from their album ‘Judgement’. The atmosphere became very chilled and mellowed. The audience seemed receptive of the slightly more serious song, and grateful of a break from the high energy dancing. If you were still allowed lighters in public buildings, they would have been out and swaying for this song.
The serene atmosphere was quickly smashed to pieces again when the band launched into their heaviest song of the night, ‘Control’ from their new album. The audience were dancing, and moving as soon as the intro began. This was probably my favourite song of the night because it was just incredible to watch the audience really go for it.
Ronan had no trouble at all keeping the audience stimulated and stirred throughout their set, and they were quickly applauded back for a well-deserved encore. The sound throughout the gig was very well done, with the levels always sounding balanced.
Exiting the venue I got talking to one person at the bar that seemed to feel that the bands newer stuff wasn’t as powerful as their older stuff, and they’d become homogenised losing some of their identity. I think this person was the exception rather than the rule though.
I really enjoyed this gig and one of the standout things for me was the level of enjoyment given off by the audience and band alike. The high-octane performance created a real party vibe that kept everyone uplifted and wanting more. I have definitely been converted into a fan.
Eleanor Knight
