OWEN PALLETT | LIVE REVIEW
Portland House, Cardiff Bay, Wed 3 June
It was always going to be a bit of a struggle for a newly-opened venue such as Portland House to get a crowd to fill its 700-person capacity and thus it proved to be true, despite the presence of one of the world’s most underrated and talented songwriters. Owen Pallett announced recently that, due to a moment of clarity whilst onstage last year, this would be his last ever tour; the news either fell on deaf ears in these parts or simply came too late for many.
The auditorium was no more than an eighth full upon arrival for the support from Scriber and King Of Cats – the former gracing his opening slot on the bill perfectly whilst the latter being one of the most ill-fitting acts imaginable. The now sadly abundant number of Cardiff’s prosecco socialites were on hand to talk above Scriber’s fragile, acoustic ballads before spending the lion’s share of the KoC set topping themselves up at the bar.
As the evening wears on, the fashionably late arrive but we’re still far from standing room only. One problem with a venue being a third full at best is the amount of work it takes the sound engineers to make artists and their instruments coherent. Punters clocked up the miles wandering around trying to find a pocket of space where the music could be enjoyed without hideous amounts of reverb – many choosing the bar, a good 50 metres from the stage.
When Pallett took the stage however, almost everyone in attendance was drawn to the front, thanks to a mixture of his exchange of witty crosstalk with the crowd and the requirement to see how the hell he manages to make those beautiful sounds all by himself. A half dozen cuts from his small but perfectly formed back catalogue later, the soloist becomes a trio for a little while and just when you thought things couldn’t get much better, they do. The flawless changeover is totally unexpected and adds a new dimension to a clutch of songs, before we return to one man and his many machines.
It’s a relaxed atmosphere; Pallett doesn’t seem too phased by the relatively low turnout and the audience are just happy that he’s happy, and that his voice is near-immaculate. In Conflict, his latest album gets a good airing, with sublime performances of I Am Not Afraid and The Secret Seven proving to be the highlights. A gig at Portland House is a strange experience, but a not unpleasant one and the potential is there to have some truly special events in future, with Owen Pallett setting a decent benchmark.
words BEN GALLIVAN photos FRANCIS BROWN