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Having heard rumours about Camera Obscura and their lack of onstage spark, Gigwise was determined to give them the benefit of the doubt and to see just how their oh-so-twinkly loved-up melodies present themselves live...
First of all a quirky, folk-y support slot was secured in the form of Magic Arm, kitted up with a ‘KT Tunstall’-pedal (and yes, that is the technical term!) this one-man band produced jabbering guitar riffs , harmonica interludes and a jazzy trumpet courtesy of Camera Obscura’s drummer, which added that extra little piece of electricity. These were mashed together creating a wall of sound, building up layers in a relaxed, bluesy manner that would have suited any cafe-bar / trendy-sofa situation. A springy cover of LCD Soundsystem’s ‘Daft Punk Is Playing In My House’ was a particular highlight.
Rather shyly, Camera Obscura pottered onto the stage and kicked off their set with ‘My Maudlin Career’; their album’s title track. Lead singer Tracyanne Campbell seemed to avoid engaging with the crowd; however the rest of the performance saw her gradually come out of her wee Scottish shell. They trundled along politely through album track upon album track, each equally as delightful yet sounding equally as similar as the next. The real treat of this gig was the conglomeration of standout tracks towards to end, the first of which being the fantastic ‘French Navy’ which simply shook the crowd into life. ‘Tears for Affairs’ with its Parisian sadness, ‘Let’s Get Out of this Country’ with its escapist angst and ‘Hey Lloyd I’m Ready to be Heartbroken’ with its gushing excitement made the crowd sway irresistibly from side-to-side in blissful fashion. The set rounded off with ‘Razzle Dazzle Rose’ which was a definite crowd pleaser, and Camera Obscura seemed to tick most boxes with the latter half of their gig delivering the songs that everyone wanted to hear. Their records seem to translate quite effortlessly into the live show, yet it is this effortlessness that other critics may have mistaken for laziness. There appears to be a certain sharpness missing but it is this sharpness that is only really present in records, and when seen live, Camera Obscura come into an all-new charm of their own.
