Harry Geeves and Sam Pegg tell us their live show must-sees for 2021, after a roller-coaster of a year of ‘can we? / can’t we?’.
Wolf Alice
I’m incredibly late to the Wolf Alice hype train. June’s Blue Weekend was my first exposure to the band, an enjoyable if slightly inconsistent record. It wasn’t until Reading Festival that Ellie Rowsell and co.’s shtick fell into place for me. The band’s set brought the figurative house down, the audience lifting phones to ‘Last Man on Earth’ just as passionately as the mosh pit (immediately) opened up for ‘Play the Greatest Hits’. The excitement of live music returning was infectious, and the group jumped with ease between riff-rock, ballads and their classics. Following this standout show, a sold-out-in-seconds local gig at Southampton’s Joiners and a tour into 2022, the BRIT Award winners should be a priority band to see as concerts make their conquering return.
Harry Geeves
dodie
dodie needs no introduction for better or worse. She’s what I would call one of the “marmites” of music today, people either love her or hate her (and I’m of the loving variety). Having watched her recently perform at the Guildhall O2 in Southampton, she was phenomenal in every way possible. Her voice was astoundingly clear, her stage presence was funny and infatuating, and she simply thrives when in the spotlight – I immediately wanted to see more of her. It’s always remarkable when an artist sounds just as good in person as they do on their tracks, but it’s more impressive when they somehow sound better, and dodie does just that. Her concerts aren’t a copy and paste of her discography in a jumbled order. They’re knitted to tell a story, to form a backdrop to something more, all the time developed and enhanced for the live experience. dodie is no novice when it comes to the craftsmanship of music, but added strings to some of her songs and fine tweaks and injections from herself which makes her a celebration of live music. It was perfect for my return to seeing live music.
Sam Pegg
