Aldous Harding – National Concert Hall – Live Review – 18th April 2023

There was a long wait for this gig for the average Aldous Harding fan. It was originally scheduled for 5th April 2022, before being rescheduled to 18th April 2023. There was even talk of a gig in the National Stadium in June of last year which again fell foul of unforeseen circumstances! As quickly as things changed during the pandemic, they returned to what went before and the gig in the National Concert Hall last night felt decidedly normal!

The support act on the night was H. Hawkline, the stage name for Welsh singer-songwriter Huw Evans, who just happens to be Aldous Harding’s partner. He played a short set with his ‘band’ which consisted of a reel-to-reel tape recorder, with a backing track adding the additional instruments. He played the guitar and sang a short but impressive set.

Just after 9pm, Aldous Harding walked slowly to centre stage to much applause. There were five musicians on stage (including the aforementioned H. Hawkline), with guitar, bass, keyboards and drums. She opened the proceedings with Ennui off her 2022 album Warm Chris. After a brief skirmish with her mic stand she continued with Tick Tock! The crowd felt for the technician on stage who briefly battled with the stand before changing it at the next song.

Aldous changed between being seated with a guitar and standing for most of the set. She does not bother with on-stage banter, and there was little interaction with the audience. Her comments or observations were few and far between, choosing not to ‘describe a description’ when talking about her songs. She lets her music do the talking and her collection of intricate songs was more than enough to keep the audience entertained. She has an ethereal presence on stage, as she glides around the stage between songs, reserving her more frantic motions for her tambourine playing. There were some highlights during the set including Tick Tock, Fever, Passion Babe and Lawn. Possibly the highlight of the night was a brilliant version of Imagining My Man. They ended the set with Leathery Whip.

The band returned for one song, Designer, before Aldous finished the set with a languorous solo guitar version of Swell Does the Skull. The audience stood to applaud her off the stage and the long-awaited evening ended. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before he returns to our shores again.

Setlist:

Ennui
Tick Tock
Fever
Treasure
Fixture Picture
Lawn
Warm Chris
Staring at the Henry Moore
The Barrel
Bubbles
Passion Babe
Imagining My Man
Old Peel
Leathery Whip

Encore:
Designer
Swell Does the Skull