First Aid Kit at Shoreditch Town Hall

First Aid Kit

Van William

Shoreditch Town Hall, 1 November 2017

I've never been to Shoreditch Town Hall before but it's a beautiful place not far from Old Street station that normally hosts plays and orchestral concerts. It's not the smallest place I've seen First Aid Kit play but it's certainly the loveliest. The last time was back in 2014 before their third album Stay Gold was released and, true to form, this intimate show also precedes a new album, Ruins, which is out in January.

Like last time I saw them, the support act is a friend of theirs, this time a singer/songwriter from California called Van William who was formerly in the band Port O'Brien. He's a lanky, skinny blonde guy dressed in the typical t-shirts and jeans get-up. Usually he has a full band, he tells us, but when he got the call from Klara and Johanna Soberberg he jumped on a plane to play the show by himself, something he hasn't done before apparently. The music comes from his forthcoming solo LP and includes the obligatory reaction towards the Trump presidency as well as indie rockers that I'm sure would sound truly anthemic played with a band. The best moment, of course, is when he brings on his "best friends" First Aid Kit to sing the song they recorded together, Revolution, and it sounds pretty damn awesome.

The last time I saw First Aid Kit they had an impressive stage set-up complete with glittery gold back-drop but this time the stage looks more simple but full of equipment. When the band comes on I can see why, they have a percussionist, a keyboardist/trombone player, a drummer and a pedal steel player. Klara follows, looking amazing in a tiered black lace dress, and picks up her acoustic guitar, while Johanna has a white frilly blouse and shiny black jeans. On previous tours Johanna has always played keyboards but this time she has switched to bass and having the two sisters both on guitar at the front of the stage actually works a whole lot better and Johanna (thankfully) still has enough freedom to do plenty of hair swishing.

They begin with The Lion's Roar bonus track, Wolf: with its tribal drums and chant-like melody, it's a spirited start to the show and it's nice to see the sisters stomping around the stage, Johanna throwing her hair around like a goddess. Usually I'm standing in front of Johanna but this time I'm on Klara's side and it's great to see her not only sing up close but also play guitar. 

A few songs in and they finally mention the forthcoming new album, Ruins, and tell us they are going

to preview a few tracks from it. The first is called Fireworks and sounds incredible (they point out it has nothing to do with the Katy Perry track, who they admit is not their thing, but that doesn't stop them from beautifully singing the chorus to the pop hit), like a lost Roy Orbison crooner complete with soaring, emotional chorus but with those heart-breaking harmonies. It's quite simply gorgeous and bodes well for the new record.

Also new is what they call the most country song they've ever written, the new single Postcard. It's definitely an old school country shuffle, with piano and pedal steel and and lovelorn vocals that ask "send me a postcode when you get to where you're going". It's the kind of song that their heroes Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris would definitely approve of and this, along with Fireworks, makes me feel like Klara and Johanna are maybe not the new Everly Brothers (that would be the Catcus Blossoms) but definitely the successors to them.

The last of the new tunes is the single It's A Shame, certain to become a concert favourite (the fact that the only merchandise available tonight is a t-shirt emblazoned with "It's A Shame" shows they are more than aware of this), it's catchy chorus and shuffling beat sound wonderful tonight and it's lovely when the music breaks for the sisters to sing softly together. 

One of the highlights of the night though is a non-album track released earlier this year which Klara explains was written in response to the American university student Brock Turner, who received a crazily lenient sentence after raping an unconscious woman. You Are The Problem Here is an angry, grungy song, way more punk than anything they've ever done, with Klara snarling "I hope you fucking suffer". It's brutal and brilliant and a message that is more relevant than ever it seems.

Other memorable moments include Van William joining them to sing the Conor Oberst parts on the song King Of The World, the crowd singing along to Emmylou (one of their greatest songs, without a doubt) and the sisters returning on stage for the encore to sing Ghost Town once again without microphones. They do this at every show, standing on the edge of the stage, but it's so beautiful to hear those haunting voices echo through the venue. I'm not sure how it would work in a bigger venue but standing close to the Soderberg sisters in the small Shoreditch Town Hall, those vocals send shivers.

Another treat is a superb cover of the George Harrison solo track Behind That Locked Door, from his All Things Must Pass album, showing once again their excellent music taste. They finish things with certainly their most successful song (mainly thanks to being featured on a certain car advert) My Silver Lining, which of course gets a terrific reaction from the crowd and despite hearing it too much these days because of said ad, still sounds magical live.

I've got a feeling their forthcoming album is going to make them huge stars - they've already sold out two nights at the Roundhouse - which judging by this show they certainly deserve but I'm thankful I got to see them at these smaller shows and hear those amazing, unique harmonies up close.

First Aid Kit on stage with Van William