Elbow at Audley End last night.

DavidR

Went to see Elbow at Audley End House last night and it was excellent. Also Richard Hawley (...from Sheffield, ex-Pulp) who has a great band and is considerably more lively than his recorded tracks when you see him live. (Had to point out to my wife that he has a different guitar for every track! Including for one an electric 12 string, don't know what). Didn't see first act, Pet Deaths, at 6.15pm because we didn't fancy the fading heat yesterday, but daughter and son-in-law said good.

Elbow have played together since 1990 and their singer Guy Garvey has a big stage presence and a beautiful voice. The audience were totally engaged and mostly stood through all of the performance which, for Elbow, had a 9pm kick off. Music excellent. Audley End is a tremendous venue, well organised in every respect and jolly. Nice grass slope with stage/screens at the bottom with backdrop of the back facade of Audley End House and the sunset. Weather was perfect, beer was good, nice big romantic moon came up behind us. Plenty of space for large audience. Parking looked good and easy. We walked there from where we live in Saffron Walden (20mins?). Audley End House itself just off M11.

So Elbow, very recommended live. And the venue. Audley End has 4 days of live music every summer. 

english_bob

I saw Elbow at Leicester De Montfort hall a few years back, and they were excellent then too.

The fact that they're so consistently good in such an understated way, that they've subtly reinvented their sound over time without ever making a big deal of the fact or made a wrong turn doing it almost works against them- "Yep, Elbow again. Great new album again, great gigs. OK."

darthed1981

Elbow supported by Richard Hawley?  That's a heck of a bill!

Both fantastic acts, always surprises me after all this time Elbow's ability to pull a corker out of their hats.

digitalkettle

Big fan here...I was a bit disappointed with the last album (it's so laid back!) but slowly it grew on me.

I saw one of their 'Forestry Commission' gigs at Sherwood Pines a few years ago and it was the perfect concert!

If anyone remembers The Longpigs, you'll have heard an early Richard Hawley...hope he got up with Elbow for their duet of 'The Fix'

digitalkettle

No 'The Fix': https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/elbow/2022/audley-end-house-saffron-walden-england-7bb3e644.html

Whitecat

Shocking that they didn't do 'The Fix'! I saw Richard support Elbow years ago and he absolutely joined them for it midway through the show and it was as good as you can imagine.

Anyway, love Elbow even if I've drifted apart from them a little over the past few years. Their first album will always be one of my all-time favourites, but nothing they did subsequently was ever bad. Strong band with a great work ethic and beautiful pathos and melancholy. If I never hear 'One Day Like This' again it won't be in spite of them.

TheOtherDennis

Love Elbow, but can't afford to go to gigs these days, sadly. A bill with Richard Hawley and Elbow on the same night must have been awesome.

Their website used to have a video of a live concert in Manchester Apollo from 2015, but it's vanished, for some reason, sadly. I'd have been happy to buy the dvd mentioned in the vid, but I've never been able to find it.

lustycourtier

Whitecat said:

Shocking that they didn't do 'The Fix'! I saw Richard support Elbow years ago and he absolutely joined them for it midway through the show and it was as good as you can imagine.

Anyway, love Elbow even if I've drifted apart from them a little over the past few years. Their first album will always be one of my all-time favourites, but nothing they did subsequently was ever bad. Strong band with a great work ethic and beautiful pathos and melancholy. If I never hear 'One Day Like This' again it won't be in spite of them.

Same. Seldom seen kid didnt do much for me, or anything afterwards either, but Asleep at the back is incredible. Thankfully I saw them a few times as well before as well. Newborn is there masterpiece.  

Placidcasual79

Sounds like a good spot to see live music..... Elbow are consistently good live. I've seen them lots of times and at a few festivals. Best time I saw them was in Manchester - it was only a day or two after they'd won the Mercury Music prize for Seldom seen kid and the bassist was on crutches. It was a really special gig - the vibe between the band and the audience was different to most shows...... I haven't seen them since the new drummer joined..... what did you think? 

(Also love Richard Hawley - his album standing at the sky's edge is a personal favourite - some amazing guitar playing/tones on it)