Sunday, 13 April 2008
After several weeks of arguing with myself over the 'necessity' of going to Luka's Brighton gig, when, after all, I will see him at the Union Chapel in only a week's time, I gave into weakness on Thursday and rang up the Komedia and bought a ticket. So, after my usual Sunday afternoon singing lesson in central London, I drove down to Brighton enjoying a lovely, long-overdue spring day, marked by intermittent showers and dazzling sunshine.
The Komedia is a funky kind of place: the walls are dark red and the place feels a bit cave-like. Access to the two event venues in the building is through a cafe at street level. Luka's gig was upstairs; on the ground floor, a stand-up comedy event was happening but through the entire evening we never heard anything of them... I wonder if they could hear anything from us...? The doors opened at 7.30 pm by which time a little crowd of people had collected in the cafe. A nice buzz of anticipation was running through everyone, and then we were up the stairs and into a room set with little round tables, each with a lit candle and 3 or 4 chairs. The stage was quite high (Luka's feet would be at eye level). A table was set with water for Luka and a vase of yellow roses. The backdrop was midnight blue with little starlike pinpricks -- it reminded me of the Helix gig on the DVD.
The tickets were sold stating "event starts at 8 pm" but when we came in we were told that had been moved back to 8.30 pm. There were a few half-hearted mumbles about that and I must say I was surprised, as I have never heard of Luka keeping his audiences waiting. Sure enough, he came on at 8.10, so maybe the Komedia staff were just playing it safe.
Luka came on stage to warm applause. The room was lit with spotlights throughout and he said how great it was to be able to see everybody! He got a bit of a surprise though. He sang much of his first song with his eyes closed. When he finished the song and opened his eyes, he found that all the lights (except the ones shining down on him) had been turned off -- we had all disappeared! This was a shame, as the darkness deprived us and Luka of the direct eye contact that he likes to have with his audiences.
On to the music...I took proper notes this time and can give you the full set list as follows:
[with the Spanish guitar]1 I Am Not At War
2 Here And Now
3 As I Waved Goodbye
4 Tribe
5 I Love The World I'm In
6 Miracle Cure
7 Blackwater Side
8 Make You Feel My Love
9 Eastbound Train
10 Sunday
11 Peace On Earth
12 Primavera
13 City of Chicago
14 No Matter Where You Go, There You Are
15 I'm A Bogman
[then Rudy's turn]
16 Exploring The Blue
17 I'm On Your Side
18 Every Man
19 You Couldn't Have Come At A Better Time
Encore [with Rudy]
20 When Your Love Comes
21 Fire
22 Sunny Sailor Boy
Highlights for me were the particularly exquisite guitar bridge in Miracle Cure and hearing the story behind When Your Love Comes. When introducing Every Man at a recent gig, Luka said that he had been to too many funerals lately. I felt sad to hear that, but -- looking for the silver lining to this cloud -- it appears that, in his personal way of dealing with these losses, Luka has tapped into a rich song-writing vein. Every Man is a real gem, both simple and profound, and When Your Love Comes is an outstanding tribute celebrating a friend's life and passion, rather than wallowing in grief.
Sunny Sailor Boy was a fabulous way to end the gig, with everybody singing. Just before we came to the finish, Luka interjected "I forgot to tell you, I'll be hearing confessions and signing CDs..." which resulted in the song ending in laughter as well as applause and whistles.
I don't know about any confessions, but there was a lot of interest in the DVD set and everything purchased on the night got signed. I was trying to think of a legitimate reason to buy another CD or something, just for an excuse to get it signed... but then had the bright idea of getting my set list signed!! That capped off a perfect evening.
(Originally published 2008 at http://www.rbergholz.net/lukabloom/review/fanreviews8.htm#130408)
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