Southampton Guildhall: 16th December 2011
Friendly Fires are back, armed with their sparkling second album, Pala. The album was inspired by the Aldous Huxley Novel, Island, a tale about a sociological experiment to create a perfect, paradise like society. Each track exudes this philosophy. Their live show was like a tropical explosion of summer, the perfect antidote amid the December’s rain and cold.
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs gave us an electric warm up. He stood at his decks, awkwardly but ever so modestly bopping his head to his electro, power pop tracks. Household Goods sent everyone wild, and he has clearly, from the crowd’s reaction already collected a fan base. He is set to release his debut album next year.
Ed, Edd and Jack blasted onto the stage; their backdrop a large screen with a parrot slowly moving behind them. They were welcomed with a rapturous applause and smiled back at the crowd’s ecstatic reaction. They started with Lovesick then superbly transcended into the mighty Jump in the pool. The unique thing about Friendly Fires is, they have the character and stage presence of a band, whilst twinning it with the energy and electricity of a DJ. It’s the perfect blend; even their more down tempo tracks like Pala and In the Hospital exude happiness and optimism.
Ed Macfarlane, lead singer, performed his usual dance moves; a clear expression of how passionate he is about the music they make. It works. Euphoria swept across the room whilst they played a mixture of their debut and Pala, each track clearly known and loved by everyone in the room.
They gave the perfect encore. Hawaiian Air, a single from Pala about the strenuous journey and the eventual arrival to the paradise like Hawaii, and Kiss of Life. I never wanted it to end. They have reinstated themselves as one of the freshest, most life affirming bands around.
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