Big Thief at Islington Assembly Hall

Big Thief
Katie Von Schleicher
Islington Assembly Hall, 10 November 2016

I wish I had discovered Big Thief when their debut album, Masterpiece, was released last year and had caught them in a slightly smaller venue (not that the Islington Assembly Hall is big - it's around 800 capacity) because I have a feeling their quietly intense music would be absolutely amazing in a more intimate atmosphere. That said this was still a spellbinding show and showcased what a fantastic singer and guitarist frontwoman Adrianne Lenker really is.

Despite the show being sold out it was surprising to see only one photographer (working for the venue) taking photos but the band have another bigger show at Koko next year which means word must be spreading, so maybe seeing them here is still pretty lucky.

When the band walk on stage it does feel quite low key. There's only three of them for starters instead of four and they are quite simply dressed, as any good indie band should be (Big Thief in this case are on Saddle Creek), and the lights are quite dim. Lenker is dressed in what I first think is a long sleeveless black dress but then realise is jumpsuit, which seems to fit better with her tomboy style. Her skinhead has grown out to a short crop that reminds me simultaneously of the movie Single White Female and Amanda Plummer in Pulp Fiction. I can't really see bassist Max Oleartchik very well but drummer James Krivchenia reminds me of Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gee's!

The music too starts out with one of the band's quieter numbers, Pretty Things. It's clear the band are able to do spooky, heartfelt folk tunes effectively. Weirdly though it's when Lenker turns on the distortion that the songs really start to move me.

On Masterpiece her voice was emotive and strong and her guitar work raw and beautiful, full of echoes and feedback. This is particularly evident at the beginning of Shark Smile, which turns into a cool shuffle and the song Parallels builds into a gorgeous swirl of guitars and drums with Lenker crying out "I see your parallels" over and over again, even as the music slows and almost stops and then starts up again for a stunning finale.

At one point during the show someone shouts for missing guitarist Buck Meek and Lenker explains that he's off recording a solo album, which seems an odd thing to do when the band has just embarked on their biggest tour ever. After the following song she appears dissatisfied with her explanation and awkwardly tells us that it's complicated and that she was afraid someone would bring it up and then asks anyone who wants to know more to find her after the show, which, to be honest, doesn't sound that good on the Buck front really. I obviously haven't seen the band perform with Meek but on this show alone I'd say that Lenker was well able to handle all the cool guitar parts and the show was loud and rocking when it needed to be. It will be interesting to see if Meek comes back but if not they still sound damn good without him.

Lenker also seems genuinely moved that they are playing a place like the Assembly Hall, explaining that it's not so long ago that they were playing in front of 12 people and now here they are. "You don't know what this means to us," she says beaming. I'm sure she will be even more awed when they play Koko next year.

The whole set is just a nice mixture of the first two LPs but they wait until the encore to play what is probably their best known song, Mythological Beauty, the excellent single from the new album Capacity. Lenker's voice sounds particularly wonderful on this breathy one moment as she sings "there's a child inside of you who's trying to raise a child in me", before turning into a loud pleading cry.

Before the final song someone screams "fuck yeah" in a big deep rock and roll voice which is particularly hilarious as the last tune is a non-album track called Terminal Paradise, which turns out to be slow, sombre number, something far from fitting a "fuck yeah". That said I kind of know what that guy meant because it always feels great when a show is this satisfying. Big Thief are definitely a great band.

Opening the show tonight was an American singer/songwriter called Katie Von Schleicher, who played both guitar and keyboards and was accompanied by another guitarist. I admit I didn't catch all her set but her voice was big and expressive and the music poppy one minute, a little psychedelic the next and then sweet and folky or whispery and piano-driven. The best part of her set came when a guest drummer joined them on a few songs which really brought them to life. Apparently Von Schleicher's latest album (her second) is called Shitty Hits, but her music sounded far from it.