CityLife

I Am Kloot

I Am Kloot

I Am Kloot
Manchester Cathedral
December 3, 2010

SOUNDCHECK and rehearse all you like, but if there’s one aspect of live shows that has to be left to chance, it’s atmosphere.

Conjuring up the right mood for the right crowd on the right night isn’t easy to do. But it’s hard to find fault with the equation of I Am Kloot plus Manchester Cathedral on a snowy night in December.

It’s an enormous space, but a dreamy mirrorball and swirling white spotlights highlight the uniqueness of the setting and make it feel precious and intimate.

Icy cold, the cathedral almost personifies I Am Kloot’s sound: pensive, full of solitude and aspiration, and unapologetically dramatic.

Northern Skies is an epic introduction to the band’s current live set up – the trio of John Bramwell, Pete Jobson and Andy Hargreaves beefed up by additional keyboard and guitar players plus a duo on strings and a brass player.

Giving their Mercury Prize-nominated record Sky At Night a live outing worthy of its epic sound, though, requires extra hands. Lately and To The Brink, with its explosive middle eights and dramatic closing bars, illustrate why; and yet Someone Like You and From Your Favourite Sky prove John, Pete and Andy are still capable of flexing their dramatic muscles alone.

The crowd’s appreciation, though, goes far deeper than just a love of band. John’s personal charisma comes through in waves, his tongue-in-cheek analysis of his songs as being “about drinking and disaster” inviting much applause, just as his solo session in the spotlight for sparse renditions of I Still Do, No Fear Of Falling and At The Sea leave the crowd open-mouthed.

A trio of singles – Proof, Twist and One Man Brawl – crown a near two hour set, while the soulful, solitary encore of Same Shoes perfectly summaries the mood.

As triumphant homecomings go, this one couldn’t be more perfect from start to finish.