Four Horsemen of Brixton

The last time I saw the inside of Brixton was for a No Doubt show in June 2002. Well - the balcony still looks the same - a castle fit for kings, or rather four horsemen... from 2012 even if 2007 is already Klaxons' year. Brixton's website was finally changed day of to reflect the actual opening acts of night two of Klaxons' December residency and lo and behold - I was getting my chance the very next night to freak out to Justice!! - whoo!, but not SMD who I've yet to see live (only DJ) and was soo looking forward to and of course those shouty Canadians in the guise of Crystal Castles. Thanks to Klaxons' manager (and one of my newest myspazz friends) Tony, a photopass was waiting for me when I stepped up to the stage door after passing posting alerting the public to the band's ban of glowsticks. Trying to shake themselves of a genre/lifestyle tag, no? :) Or how about decreasing the chances of having to wear an eyepatch due to getting hit in the eye?

What time did I arrive? Despite getting into London just before noon and really not having anything too pressing to do other than find the cheapest possible clothes to buy to replace my curry stained jeans and a dress I didn't want to wear, I delayed my getting ready until 6 - which is around the time I would've needed to leave in order to shoot the first three songs of Crystal Castles' strobe heavy set. Yeah - I was uber-bummed at not getting to take them in, especially having missed them on the 4th at the Scala since I was still in Glasgow taking in Dan Deacon. But just as Bogart and Bergman "will always have Paris" in Casablanca, I knew I'd have my Crystal Castles and Health show at Holocene in Portland in a mere month, so I wasn't suffering too much.
By the time I arrived - guess what - Justice had not only already taken to the stage, but FINISHED. Ahhhhh!! Boooooo! Though little did I know, I'd have my chance to see them again in mere hours...

So what did that leave me with? Well - a lot - in the one act yet to play - Klaxons! One of their very final shows of the year and their final show in the UK of 2007.

With the lights down, I swear I heard some Franki Valli coming from the speakers before they entered onto the stage. Jamie shouted various proclamations and they predictably launched into "Bouncer." "How bizarre, how bizarre." Remember that song? I do and that's just what I had on my mind when Klaxons galavanted onto the stage in their silver gladrags and for the first time didn't introduce themselves as hailing from London. So crazy - mind warp! hahahaha They've done that at EVERY show I've seen 'em at to the point that the statement was as much apart of their set as their songs - hell - it had become a song.
He addressed the audience the whole night as Brixton.

Everyone's arms were immediately in the air - not just those against the barrier, but as far back as the door - and they stayed up - the whole time - everyone so ecstatic to be there!

Uh-oh - I spy glowsticks:

As I shot away I noticed that same look James always has - the look of singular vision - like he's an athlete - an endurance runner perhaps - fierce agility through the course all the while Simon blundered his way to the front of the stage - hunched over, cape flying.

Following the same setlist as they always do - the set was still mucho different from previous showings I've taken in. As always - in "Magick" there was that almost too long, just long enough to make everyone fervent brand of pause, but this time there was no dramatic towel flaunting by James. In fact, there were pauses a plenty throughout the night through many a song.

After the first three songs in the pit, I darted out to take in the concert from multiple perspective points. As soon as I'd made my way around the barrier I bumped into Akiko, who I hadn't seen since sleeping in her kitchen on my second night in the UK. It was rather amazing how few Klaxons friends knew if they'd be attending prior to the show. When I asked Alex if he was going two weeks before, he'd said he didn't know and same with Akiko. I'm really glad she was there - she'd wanted to be, but wanted to be invited instead of having to ask. Looks like the request came to her as she was up at the very front all a smile.
I made my way upstairs to the VIP area - there was no way I wouldn't be enjoying the concert amongst everyone else, but wanted to take a minute to see it from another perspective. I always tell myself I will immediately stop going to concerts if I ever have the desire to take them in a removed setting because to me, concerts aren't about that. From behind the plexi-glass once I'd made it up they'd made their way onto "Golden Skans" and what a treat that was to watch from above and just see everyone carrying on the "ooo-ooooo-oooo-ohhhh-ahhahhhs" as if they wanted to take the song to eternity.

The beautiful lighting also factored into the night - reflecting Klaxons as statuesque silhouettes - especially with the shades of purple during "Forgotten Works."

I realized it was the last show I was ever gonna see like this - them in support of Myths of the Near Future - with a setlist reflecting all the tracks to their credit. Oh the feeling of nostalgia for the present.

While I couldn't fight my way all the way back up to the front, I was happy to take in the show from my spot - I could see everyone just going crazy and have enough room to dance myself. By the end of the show they had silver confetti raining down.

And get this - there was an encore! An encore! First time I've ever seen that from Klaxons. Any special track you ask? Not really - they still closed with the chaos of "Four Horsemen," but this time exited the stage and returned before giving it a go with the gust of the cheering crowd.

Klaxons left the stage with a bow and salute. What a show to go out on - when they closed - they sealed the deal for everyone there. In need of a comeback by album two? Sophomore curse? When they return, so will everyone else.

More of my photos of the show here on f-f-f-f-f-flickr

Compare and contrast:

"Bouncer" (Demo) Klaxons MP3

"The Bouncer" (Original Mix) Kicks Like a Mule MP3

Part 2 of these MP3s coming in the Near Future (pun intended)

After party report+photos in my next post... I finally caught up with Fist Fite and didn't feel like the Mark Ronson to their Lily Allen (who was actually there too)