Fallen Star Photography

Last night I went to one of the most socially awkward gigs of my life. Soap&Skin (Anja Plaschg) from Austria played at the beautiful and sonically  stunning Union Chapel (Islington), with no support. Doors opened at 7:30, but the show didn’t start until 8:45, luckily the Pews are surprisingly comfortable and hot drinks and ice cream (for those who are presumably not cold enough) are on sale.

When I arrived I was a little late, but thanks to a friend who I had made at other gigs, who had been waiting outside since 4pm, I had a front row Pew. Alongside that friend, there were a few other gig friends and familiars around too and it was good to chat to them again. In comparison to these guys I am still very green on the gig scene, but oh well. Everyone’s gotta start somewhere I guess.

So then, now the show. 8:45 came around, and the lights went dim, and strange ominous music began to play (well strange ominous sounds at least). First the ensemble arrived with their various instruments, followed by Anja, all in black. Anja is a unique performer, as I am about to find out over the course of the evening, sometimes a little worrying, but on the most part quite brilliant. She’s been playing Piano since the age of six, and it shows. I had not listened to much of her material before buying the ticket, but I had over the last week. It certainly isn’t the easiest of listens, but it is very beautiful, if not a little on the dark side of the musical spectrum (a little understatement never hurt anyone).

The ensemble, shrouded in darkness shining torches on their faces.

Anyway back to the show, with each song, you could tell that every line and every word meant something and she felt it with every fibre of her being. At one point the start of Spiricle, she was initially unable to get past the first verse without stopping, but after a quick breather and what appeared to be reassurance from the backing singer, she continued and triumphed. Between a few songs Anja retreated from the stage, returning shortly after. She paraded slowly in front of the stage at one point and grasped the hand of one of the audience members, before clambering up on to the stage again, and sitting back at the piano. 

Occasionally Anja was without the Piano, facing out onto the crowd waving her arms expressively. There was this fragility about her that you could see from her eyes and her movements that was very beautiful if not a little distressing at times. There were times where I wish I could have gotten up there and hugged her myself, though I doubt that would be of much comfort to her.

One of the last songs in the set was Marche Funebre, which began with a what seemed to be the music of a horror film, which along side a dimly lit church setting, flickering candles, was very chilling. The rest of the song was played to an all red lighting state, which added to the horror film vibes throughout the song, finishing the song by pounding the keys with her fists. It was hard to watch at times, but when she pulled through it became more of a joy. The 17 song set was an emotionally exhausting bout. This was fragile, delicate and darkly beautiful performance, and how she is able to bare her soul on stage like this repeatedly is beyond me.

The Setlist was:

1. Brother of Sleep
2. Cynthia
3. Cry Wolf
4. Extinguish Me
5. Surrounded
6. Sleep
7. Vater
8. Turbine Womb
9. Thanatos
10. The Sun
11. Meltdown
12. Spiracle
13. Cradlesong
14. Mr.Gaunt PT 1000
15. Fall Foliage
16. Marche Funebre
Encocore
18. Born To Lose