Samstag, 21. Jul 2007, 15:02

Fri 20 Jul – Emilie Autumn, Lahannya

Answer me this. If you arrive early at a signing, and waited until the time came when the artist was supposed to turn up, but then doesn't, and arrives one hour and thirty minutes later after they were supposed to have arrived, and then waited furthermore for the queue to go down, and then got right to the door and then be told that the line has to stop there, what mood would you be in for the gig about to take place with the same artist? I stood, and made my less than enthusiastic friend who had never heard of Emilie Autumn previously, stand with me in that line for two hours, quite motionless, breathing carbon monoxide from the chain smokers in front. We tried to entertain ourselves. Theorise what was to happen in the final Harry Potter book we would be both obtaining at midnight. We played games on our phones. But mostly, we just stood there. Some brief sparks of conversation drifted between the two of us every now and again. At the beginning, it was fine, but the conversation soon turned to 'This is getting silly, now', and so on.

And so it did get extremely silly. Doors opened for her gig at 7pm. She was supposed to be signing CDs between 5-6pm at another venue. But it wasn't until 6.30pm that she drifted by without an apology, without one glance at her fans queuing who had been waiting hours, and from me and backwards - in vain, and that was a lot of people. She did not offer an apology for her lack of puncuality at the concert either. Not one word of gratitude to the people whos feet and backs ached, and then were to go to her gig, and stand on their feet for another four hours.

Aching, and in pain all over my body, I arrived at the Underworld, whilst an amatuer band set themselves up. No drummer, two guitarists, a vocalist, and a redundant girl doing the odd vocalise in the background. They started, and I was not sure how I was going to get through it, being sore from head to toe. The only thought from stopping me going was that I had got that far, now that it was so close, why throw it away? Lahannya came on stage, and for a brief time, I felt better, but her music soon washed over me, especially as I could barely hear her vocals due to illness. Could the day get any worse, knowing constantly that my friend who had come with me as a favour, and had no likeness towards what we watching at all was in double my pain? Worse still, the tallest man with the tallest widest girl in the place decided to have themselves right at the front. Fair enough, each to ones own, but it did nothing to lighten my mood as my view was consistently blocked.

Eventually, finally, Emilie's music started playing, and some weird girls that would irritate me throughout the rest of the gig (and yet, would have been wrong if they were not there) came on the stage very slowly. Emilie came on in full costume, looking absolutely amazing, full of energy and aggressive conviction, armed with irony, wit and humour she is so well known for in her music. The aches in my bones disappeared, I forgot the fact that I wanted to smash her face in earlier for being so disorganised and letting down her fans so badly. As disappointing as it was that music of the music was back track, it did not fail to bring the atmosphere into the room that we know so well from our own bedrooms or iPods. I relished everything on the stage, though I couldn't see most of it, near the front as I was. I appreciated the costumes, the unique theatrical performance of Emilie and the girls, not missing any point they were making. I have been to many concerts in my time, but as much as the bad mood I was in, I had never enjoyed a concert more. Sure, I felt my body may give way at any moment but the infectious enthusiasm of the audience couldn't be ignored, and loved the likes of 'Opheliac', 'Liar' and 'Dead Is The New Alive' were extra special due to audience participation (I particularly liked how every came in early on 'Give in, give in, give in…' and she said 'wait for it my kiddies'). She banter in between songs was amusing, and all the while you got to marvel at the costumes. It wasn't a million pound set, yet it was a visual feast for the eyes

The most enjoyable performances are definitely 'Unlaced' and what seemed to be an edited and extended 'Face the Wall'. Being drawn to Emilie in the first place due to her violin skills I was looking forward to it. She played skillfully, and didn't go over the top like most violin players.

After the show was dreadful. Just one small place for merchandise, and getting through people at the speed that a tortoise would be proud of. I wanted to see what was there, and buy something, perhaps, but due to lack of organisation it was deemed next to impossible unless I wanted to stand on my feet for another unnecessary two hours.

So despite the rough mood I was in, I managed, somehow, possibly through the Emilie's charms and stage appeal, to enjoy the damn show. I thank her for the show. But there wasn't an apology in sight regarding the signings, and so I find it next to impossible to forgive her for the stunt. Love the music - disillusioned now of the person. I advice anyone to catch her if she is close by, but never ever bother with signings, as she is unreliable.

If the signing disastor never happened, it would have got 10/10, but if include it, I would slash that rating in half.