Update July 22, 2019: This show has been cancelled. Refunds are available at the point of purchase.
The last time Juliana played in London I got to sit in luxurious seats at the 2,500 capacity Royal Festival Hall.
On Friday I got to stand in the back room of a Hackney pub.
This, like the bonus free Minor Alps show in the same city to follow two days later, was a sell out. Small venues for sure, but still good to see a couple of full capacity shows in the UK's capital for Juliana and Matthew's project.
The support at this Shacklewell Arms show came from Lilliput - Sunderland lads with nice harmonies. Maybe a bit too Mumfordy for my taste, but unless they push it too far and add banjos I'll be looking out for more from them.
This was my first live experience of Minor Alps.
If you've read the reports from their US shows at the end of last year (including Carsten's recent post), the format remains; Juliana plays acoustic guitar or keyboard with Matthew also on guitar and occasional backing track (such as the beats on 'Away Again') via his MacBook.
I hope I get to see Juliana play with a full band again one day (I haven't since 1995!) but Minor Alps is totally suited to this acoustic / keys set up, with only a couple of the most Nadary Surfery songs in the set sounding as if they could benefit from the electric treatment.
The guitar work is often excellent but vocals are key to the Minor Alps experience. Matthew and Juliana's voices blend so well together as we've all heard on Get There. In the live arena this is even more evident. Experience it if you can.
Now including a lovely cover of 'Bette Davis Eyes', the setlist is similar to the US shows too, which meant that in addition to most of Get There I got to hear a certain 'Live On Tomorrow'.
Also, we had two of Matthew's favourite Juliana songs in Candy Wrappers (with Caws on lead vocals), and a Blake Babies classic in Out There.
Juliana sang the latter with the same energy as she did 25 years ago, reinforcing my feeling that the Blake Babies should be talked about with the same reverence as afforded their peers. Dinosaur Jr influenced guitar pop rules. Always.
The actual Minor Alps songs were well received. 'Away Again' remains my favourite from the album, together with Matthew's 'I Don't Know What To Do With My Hands'.
Shacklewell Arms has a limited stage / backstage area which gave us a bit of fun waiting for M & J to come back for their encore. Juliana 'hid' behind a partition wall during this traditional gig charade, giving us the odd wave for a minute or two.
I had only made plans to go to this one show but as soon as it was over, I had second thoughts. Juliana live shows in Europe are a rare thing and you never know if you'll get another opportunity. The excellence of the performance led to some last minute arrangements and the next evening I was doing it all again in Brighton. I'm so glad I did.
The Bermuda Triangle is a small, newish venue on the seafront, yards from the beach. It's an unusually narrow hall, housed within one of the arches along the promenade. In the dark, it's like being in a railway tunnel.
The support was from Brighton based Seadog aka Mark Benton, featuring Hayley Savage - an exceptionally polite and mellow folk duo.
The Minor Alps set followed the same pattern as the previous evening.
I've listened to a fair bit of Nada Surf over the years but can't claim to be a big fan, and Minor Alps is easily my favourite work I've heard from Matthew. (I also find it the most enjoyable music Juliana has made since How To Walk Away).
I enjoyed his performance and his contribution to the Juliana songs, especially on 'Candy Wrappers' (which I might actually prefer to either of Juliana's studio versions) and his singing the last line of 'Live On Tomorrow' works well.
Unlike the shows with Evan which I loved in a different way, every song here is a joint performance and I like what Matthew and Juliana add to each other's songs.
The crowd on both nights were attentive througout, with no background chatter during the songs which can often mar these acousticy events. Well done everyone. You did good.
In London Matthew had asked us to give it a bit of an 'ooh ooh' singalong at the end of the encore closing 'Fruit Fly'. It fell a bit flat to be honest - we're not all that outgoing you see. He got what he wanted in Brighton though without asking us, largely thanks to an enthusiastic Nada Surf fan who got us all joining in, with his, shall we say, imaginative harmonies.
Fair play to this guy (later seen giving Matthew the grizzliest of bear hugs) as he helped give the last few songs and encore a really good atmosphere. The Alps responded too with big smiles, Juliana signing off stage with a shout of 'Brighton Rocks!'
I had such an enjoyable couple of nights and it was great to meet up with faces old and new.
If you get a chance to catch any of the remaining European shows, I'm sure you'll have fun too.
// Craig
Not sure I'm ever going to understand why anyone chooses not to live in the moment by filming an entire show, particularly with a camera in the face of a performer, but hey. You can see more videos from Friday's Shacklewell Arms show on the YouTube.
There are a couple of online reviews from the London shows:
Ben Walsh, with a lukewarm response for The Independent:
The alt-rock fortysomething duo major in mellow (perhaps too mellow) melodies and their soft (sometimes twee) sound recalls She & Him, George Harrison and Teenage Fanclub. The American pair keep their lyrics and sentiments simple and habitually sing in unison. Mostly their delicate vocals work nimbly in harmony but sometimes you'd wish one of them would wrestle control.
A more enthusiastic article on Sunday's show at The Islington by Joe Hoffman for The Upcoming:
Minor Alps, a duo consisting of Juliana Hatfield and Matthew Caws, perform music reminiscent of Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, and even Neil Young, with a twist of country and rock. The band had great chemistry while performing onstage at The Islington, with wonderful vocal harmonies and acoustic guitar, in front of a small, peaceful crowd. Throw in a little bit of Korg synth and you get some Bon Iver-esque influence that shows a more creative and artistic side to Minor Alps.
Juliana Hatfield's just dedicated My Sister to the royal spawn. Just had Evan's Big Gay Heart with a saw. Been that kind of night.
— Jude Rogers (@juderogers) December 4, 2012
It was that kind of night.
If you haven't seen it yet, don't miss the pro photoset by Beanotown Photography on Flickr.
As for the saw, you can see the saw on a seesaw by the seashore on this photo and on this YouTube clip. You'll note that Juliana sat this one out. She backed off whenever the woman with the saw (Mara Carlyle) came out. Very wise.
It was a great finale to the 5 night tour of England, Ireland and Scotland in the plush all seated surroundings of London's Royal Festival Hall.
Despite what you may have read elsewhere it was well attended. It's a 2,500 capacity venue and apart from the upstairs area the hall was largely sold out.
— Juliana Hatfield (@julianahatfield) December 5, 2012
Out of shot in Juliana's photo are imposing balconies which flank the hall, giving it the feel of a posh galactic senate from Star Wars. They're quite impressive pods despite their failure to levitate or contain Natalie Portman.
It's fair to say most of the crowd were more familiar with Evan and the Lemonheads material. Expecting everyone to know a Madder Rose cover from a Blake Babies album is perhaps too ambitious!
Juliana's songs were well received though - notably her excellent takes on 'Ugly' and 'I Picked You Up' (a request earlier in the day on Twitter), together with the one most people knew - 'My Sister'. She grew into the performance as the night went on, taking inspiration from the venue rather than being intimidated by it.
Craig's sidebar: I took a friend along for their first Hatfield experience. Afterwards I was asked which of Juliana's albums I would recommend. We may have a convert! Also, hello to Lieve, Carsten and Charlie who I spent some time with. It was great to share the evening with you.
Surprisingly there were a few negative comments on Twitter from a handful of people who clearly went with very different expectations to the type of show these two have been performing in recent years. These views appear unrepresentative of the overwhelmingly positive atmosphere in the hall.
Juliana is a highly talented singer and guitarist performing songs which many of us have a long standing emotional attachment to. Evan's songs were effortlessly performed showcasing his talent as one of the most gifted songwriters of his or any generation - Juliana saying as much with an impromptu compliment to her partner during the set.
What's not to love?!
Evan and Juliana winging it as they go along is rather charming - someone commented that it was like watching talented teenagers jamming in the bedroom.
When they returned for the encore their lack of clear planning was even more evident. A late crowd request for 'Rain' was picked up by Evan and nearly paid off as he looked to Juliana for her consent. There's every chance this unrehearsed song so reliant on harmony might have come off as shambolic, but it's a chance a lot of us would have been happy to take.
Instead, Juliana decided that this was her time to say her goodbyes to London, leaving Evan to close the show on his own with what remains the finest Lemonheads cover song.
Mrs Robinson? Mrs Shmobinson.
No, of course it was 'Different Drum' - an odd but somehow fitting end. Evan and Juliana may appear to travel to a different beat yet there is a beautiful connection, enhanced by 25 years of exceptional songwriting.
It was a privilege to witness and for many of us in the crowd there's no other place we'd have rather been.
Pictures from the UK and Ireland shows have been posted by Carsten at the Only Everything site. Other fan photos at Flickr - London, London, Dublin.
Caroline Sullivan reviewed the London show (not altogether positively!) for The Guardian.