1000 Tiny Birds

The Joy Formidable (+The People Versus)

The Fleece, 2023-09-24

Rescheduled from a Thursday night in March (reasonable) to a Sunday night in September (abhorrent), I nonetheless head to the Fleece to see The Joy Formidable, notably on the lower end of the age distribution bell curve, which on some level is fascinating if not entirely surprising. This is a classic case of liking a band’s newer works and never really having gone back to the early stuff to familiarise myself with it pre-gig (ah, Suede at the O2 in 2013, such different times). Unfortunately, this is a gig where that does hold me back somewhat. It’s not without its upsides - there’s at least one song from my favourite (doing the wonderful trick of reframing an album closer as a gig opener) and my pet choices from Into The Blue. They’re a storming presence live, which carries me nicely through the less familiar tracks through sheer force of will on their part. Ritzy talks about how nervous she’s been getting back to performing in front of people, which is well-disguised if adding something of a frisson to proceedings. The People Versus aren’t bad, but they betray a lack of confidence within 30 seconds on stage, which fails to separate them from any other pub band.