by Will Barnston
Recently I ventured all the way from Swansea up to Edinburgh as I had tickets for one of my all-time favourite bands, London Grammar. Without fail, they can give me goosebumps in seconds, and to see them live was unbelievable.
As Edinburgh’s Usher Hall filled up, the rowdy Scottish crowd, me included, was buzzing with excitement as ‘Lo Moon’, London Grammar’s incredible American support act, played their unheard and unexpected music to the Scots, who absolutely loved it.
After a long, apprehensive wait post Lo Moon, front-woman Hannah Reid stepped on stage and the entire hall exploded with excitement. I had never experienced an audience that was so loud; it was almost deafening. However, in a matter of seconds, the packed audience fell silent as London Grammar kicked off their truly powerful performance with ‘Who Am I’.
I was genuinely shocked at Hannah Reid’s vocals, as they sounded exactly the same (if not better) than the pre-recorded studio versions. Her voice can only be described as angelic, and is honestly the best live voice I have ever heard.This was the band’s only Scottish stop on their current tour, and it was clear that they wanted to show off their faultless talent in Edinburgh.
They smashed every song they performed, from their classic ‘Hey Now’, which Hannah said had ‘started everything off’ for the band, to a newer, edgier ‘Non Believer’, showing the band’s diversity.The keyboards, guitar and drums complimented Hannah Reid’s voice perfectly, and I’ve never seen a band perform as well as London Grammar did. It was completely natural, yet captivating. They had the entire audience in the palm of their hands, wrapping up an emotional night with their high-paced, drum-and-bass-like ‘Metal & Dust’.
If you ever get the opportunity to watch London Grammar, I implore you do so. You will not regret it!
