Photo: WENN.com
The Pyramids are a strange, strange place. Part-social club, part-wedding disco, part- Sunday-round-your-nan’s-house, there was a sense in the venue that the largely aged coastal crowd might be a tad timid for Natasha Khan’s eccentric assault.
But the second she steps on stage she utterly owns it, and the room comes alive. The homely and familiar setting is perfect for Khan’s intimate and comforting approach.
Having shed the headdresses and fairytale fancy dress, Khan stands looking somewhat bare in comparison to her previous incarnations. With just a monochromatic dress and simply lit stage, she sets about letting her own boundless energy and charm be the spectacle – and nothing else. As her ‘that’ cover art suggests, she’s never seemed so comfortable in her own skin.
Opening with the heavenly ascent of ‘Lillies’, Khan’s vocals are monumental and flawless, and her belief in the new material really shows. Her set leans on the majority of ‘The Haunted Man’, but is never received as ‘self- indulgent’ because of just how universally enchanting it is.
What was lost in much of the production on The Haunted Man comes into full colour and life onstage this evening. The stripped down and subtle beats of ‘Oh Yeah’ and ‘A Wall’ are translated into all-out raving powerhouses while the previously non-descript ‘Horses of the Sun’ becomes a different beast altogether. The tracks lose their sheen but gain a razor-sharp edge – carried all the way by Khan’s magnetic performance.
Khan’s voice cracks briefly in a tender and soulful rendition of heartbreaker ‘Laura’, but it only adds to gut-wrenching intensity.
The greatest responses of the night are saved for old favourites like the witch-pop menace of ‘What’s A Girl To Do’ and a dark and rumbling rendition of ‘Travelling Woman’ before the ultimate sensory crescendo of encore ‘Daniel’.
With wild-child bravado and a constant grin, it’s apparent that every moment of performance for Khan is one of pure joy – and it’s utterly infectious, as waves of affection between band and crowd warm up the chilly night time sea breeze. That’s Bat for Lashes for you – a very strange talent for very strange times.
