Freebutt, 8th December 2009, with support from Guided by Lights and The Robot Heart
It’s always a challenge for the opening band at the Freebutt, unfortunately there is no exception for Guided by Lights, a Brighton based band with an unfairly small audience. With a sound a little like early Bright Eyes, and an interesting array of instruments including a banjo, violin and double bass it’s impossible to miss the folky, lazy Brighton sound of this band.
Further support for headline act Thomas Dybdahl are The Robot Heart – another local band. The stage is decorated with strings of white lights which add to the beautiful dreamy atmosphere created by The Robot Heart’s electro-acoustic harmonies. Their songs tell stories of ghosts and robots and are each dreamy and hypnotising, the voices of Tom Marsh and Astra Forward harmonise in such a lovely and relaxing way. Soon to be new single ‘Lost in Stereo’ and equally as beautiful ‘Raining Stones’ with their sounds like a darker XX clearly push the band into the one-to-watch space.
Thomas Dybdahl makes an unobtrusive and quiet entrance onto the stage and begins playing before the audience has even realised his presence. Dressed all in denim on the barest Freebutt stage I’ve ever seen, he’s quite a figure. After a quiet opening song he introduces himself, and clearly aware of his stage solitude (his band are somewhere in Norway, apparently) asks for any questions or requests from the audience, happy to please.
His setlist seems to read a little like ‘A Short History of Thomas Dybdahl’ might; “U”, he tells the audience, describes his childhood love of Prince, and introducing the song “From Grace” (an audience request) he explains the moment he realised he had written something good enough that he could finally leave home and become something. “Still my Body Aches” he almost romantically describes as being ‘written for a film that was never made’. His music is somewhat romanticised, a little cheesy even – but always just enough that it isn’t too much; every song would fit perfectly into a movie soundtrack.
With another audience request “Cecilia” he enforces audience participation in the repeated line ‘Here I am, flesh and bones’ and we sing along happily. He creates a comforting and laidback atmosphere, whether the audience know his music or not; an unassuming gem.
Words by Rose Hales
myspace.com/guidedbylights
myspace.com/therobotheart
www.myspace.com/tdybdahl
