This night being a Thursday night that followed a day when misanthropy had threatened to overcome what was left of my good nature, something was desperately needed to raise my spirts and recharge my soul. Something like Purple Pilgrims, Konsi, Order of the Toad or Anna Leyden perhaps?
First on was Anna Leyden. You might well think that being in the middle of the road would never be the best place to be on the highway of music yet that’s where Anna Leyden was. This might seem, to some, to be an old fashioned approach but those amongst us who appreciate all that is melodic and mid paced found much to enjoy in Ms. Leyden’s music.
If, however, your tastes led you towards a band with a more angular approach to music then Order of the Toad could well be the marmalade on your morning toast. Possessed of the synchronicity and fluidity of a band unafraid of playfully stretching a song across complex chords and tempo changes, Order of the Toad were never less than interesting. Quirky, but definitely interesting.
Konsi, on the other hand, were something of a party band looking for an audience that wanted to dance and their commercial sound would, in all likelihood, move even the feet of the dead. My dancing abilities are on the minimal side of the terpsichorean spectrum, so it was their eloquent and energetic guitarist that drew most of my attention. She made my ears very happy.
And so to Purple Pilgrims. Aided by instruments of electronic enchantment, this mystical duo materialised out of the shadows on to the stage and commenced the casting of musical spells delivered by means of honeyed harmonies and machined melodies with both liberally infused with the spirit of Gaia. Theirs is the music of dreams and so they were in mine even if, in a blink of the eye, they were gone.
Let it be known that I am, again, at one with the world.