Lau

The tone was set for the evening with Lau’s handpicked support, the multi-instrumental, experimental Haiku Salute. But they by no means upstaged the main act, with Lau showing their usual mastery of both precision planning and wild improvisation. The musical dynamics ranged between slow considered singing and furiously fast musical breakdowns on fiddle and accordion, keeping the audience constantly on their toes. A new remix of ‘The Unquiet Grave’ somehow sounded both nothing like a traditional ballad and yet held true to the song at the same time. All this was accompanied by their understated humour and quiet, yet evident, passion both for music and for political issues as diverse as the NHS, immigration and bees.

De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on -Sea, 21 November 2013

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