Live: The Good Natured at Concrete, London (5 Nov '10)
Remember, remember, the fifth of November. I will, indeed. Perhaps not for all the right reasons. I'd wanted to see The Good Natured for quite a while now, and especially after some kind words following our coverage of her. Unfortunately, on the night I actually managed to fulfil my wish, things didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. That's not probably not the band's fault though. Now, I don't want to moan about stage times but I'm going to anyway...
Before going to the gig at Concrete, I checked with a PR to see when The Good Natured would be on as they were the only band playing. The answer came back as 9.30pm. Now, bearing in mind that the clubnight would only start at 9pm, I figured this could well be a mistake. It was pretty much odds on to be sparsely populated at such a time. So I asked the organisers too. They also politely informed me that it'd be 9.30pm. I was confused but didn't want to miss the band. So on Friday night, I went out for a drink with some pals but then had to dash off early to get to the gig, getting there at pretty much exactly 9.30pm.
Unsurprisingly, the band weren't about to go on and the venue was very empty. This was all the more crappy as I was on my lonesome. Thankfully, I'd finally got my first issue of Little White Lies in the post (after a bit of a struggle) which I handily had in my bag. For the next 40 minutes, I nursed a Peroni and read a magazine - not quite how I envisaged my Friday night at the start of the day.
So eventually, The Good Natured did come on. Eventually. But they were impressive and maybe even worth the wait. A three pronged attack with the beguiling Sarah McIntosh leading the way along with her suitably talented and impeccably well dressed bassist, along with a scruffy but also perfectly competent drummer. I did wonder where all the other musical sounds came from but I soon forgot about that as they rapidly bundled through a selection of future electro-pop hits.
The highlights being the double barrelled blast of recent single 'Be My Animal' followed by 'Your Body Is A Machine', proving that The Good Natured can cut it live as well as on record. Not quite so sure about Sarah's look though, which was like a svelte version of The Cure's Robert Smith, if he'd forgotten his trousers. Maybe hotpants are back in? I know next to nothing about fashion.
The only shame (aside from the delay in playing, and the odd technical blip) was that Sarah didn't ask the audience to move closer. However, this gave her ample room to saunter about in front of the stage, making her way in and out of the audience in an arresting manner. Perhaps she enjoyed that freedom but I can't help but feeling that the atmosphere that evening would have benefited from a more intimate vibe. I can't imagine it'll be something they'll need to worry about for much longer, as sold out headlining shows beckon.
DOWNLOAD: The Good Natured - For The Widows In Paradise (Sufjan Stevens Cover)
Download a stunning cover of 'For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti' by Sufjan Stevens above, originally on The Recommender.
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