The spotlight shone on Nai Palm as Eventim Apollo welcomed Melbourne-based band Hiatus Kaiyote back to London, in the wake of their fourth studio album “Love Heart Cheat Code” (Brainfeeder/ Ninja Tune) released in June.
If, like me, you’ve listened to this band to the point where you can recognise each song from the first two seconds, you won’t be disappointed by Hiatus Kaiyote’s live show, which lived up to the pristine, tight sound captured on their records.
Excitement bubbled for the main act, after having been shaken up by a rousing support act from Kiefer (keys) with Luke Titus on drums and Cameron Thistle on bass. They were so locked-in that they navigated their complex music with a carefree, key-swiping and string-slapping spontaneity.
The stage was bathed in royal blue, the uniform colour of the new album, and luminescent dragons framed the centre. A particular flying V electric guitar caught the eye. The crowd applauded enthusiastically for all of Hiatus Kaiyote but they saved their biggest roar for writer and frontwoman, Nai Palm who elegantly sashayed onto the stage in a flowing green flared jumpsuit and baseball cap, looking like a psychedelic mermaid from the future.
The generous two-hour performance, which never dipped in energy at any point, was mostly made up of music from their two most recent albums. Perhaps the most anticipated tune was “Red Room” which, as Palm put it, was “a bit of a singalong”. This was also the moment captured by hundreds of phones, zooming in on the glowing red stage.
What struck me most about the performance was how truly they managed to replicate the sound of their recorded work – the sonic territories explored were innumerable. Analogue synthesizers, pedals, effects and samples blended within well-rehearsed arrangements, recreating each of the individually iconic sound worlds in which their songs preside. Three additional backing vocalists filled the considerable space taken up on the records by Nai Palm’s distinctive layered vocals and they did a really good job of it, blending together with Palm’s hazy vocal tone and forming one solid unit. “Sparkle Tape Break Up” went out to all of those with “tantrum energy” and Palm dual wielded microphones, her fervent vocal riffs sounding like a lead guitar through the effected vocal.
Though the music falls into the broad category of jazz-influenced music, there was relatively little improvisation. Instead, each band member in turn had more of a feature moment, taking the form of an introduction or interlude to the songs we recognise. Perrin Moss demonstrated tap-like chops on the drums over a grooving vamp, stank-face bassist Paul Bender improvised a surprisingly tender bass introduction to “By Fire” and a stripped back soulful piano introduction from Simon Mavin led into crowd favourite, “Building a Ladder”.
It was exciting to hear how some of these older tunes have subtly developed in the years since being recorded. One nice surprise was the appearance of backing vocalist Silentjay playing soprano saxophone on ‘Make Friends’, trading with Mavin’s lead synth.
Palm said “It’s crazy to feel intimacy with 5000 people” but that was exactly what was happening. The visceral effect that the music had on individuals was present even where I was sat, at the back of the stalls. People seemed to be totally unaware of anything around them except for the music, completely in their own world, gesticulating with every phrase and clearly connecting on a deep level.
A delighted and persistent crowd refused to let the band go without an encore, and a few bars into ‘Molasses’, anyone who had managed to remain seated was now standing and moving to the music in their own way.
