Another year and another release Xiu Xiu release as emotionally intense, eclectic and challenging as ever. Being my second time at a Manchester Xiu Xiu show touring as a two piece, I felt schooled enough to anticipate the same from the live show.
As the two members of Xiu Xiu appear on stage it is a good few minutes before Stewart is satisfied with his on stage set up. Classically trained new member Angela Seo appeared a little anxious to get going behind her Korg synth and stacked cymbal rack as Stewart confidently took his time to ease into his live setup routine. In studying his arsenal of familiar and alien instruments that piece by piece took to the stage it is abundantly clear that Jamie Stewart is a perfectionist. From two pillars of percussive instruments to a mystery box of unknown handheld wonders that included electric whistles and finger castanets, Xiu Xiu come prepared.
The venue is suprisingly full as Xiu Xiu begin, silencing the audience with a delicate finger picked introduction. The set covers a lot of new material taken from the bands latest, ‘Dear God, I Hate Myself’. New highlights include the Pornography era Cure-esque, Falkland Rd. and infectiously catchy new single, Gray Death, the latter of which had reportedly been composed solely on a Nintendo DS. The games device featured heavily in the set, most interestingly so on the re-imagining of old favourite, “I Luv the Valley Oh!” relinquishing Stewart’s electric guitar duties. Never before have I witnessed a man using a stylus with such eccentric intensity.
As the set list grew to cover everything from bulimic pop hooks (“Chocolate Makes You Happy”) to the avant garde and at times danceable numbers (“Poe Poe”), the show progressively blurred the lines between a live music and performance art spectacle.
Ever the purveyors of sonic nihilism and dramatic shifts in dynamics, the two-piece sporadically moved between extremes with a calculated precision. Synthesised melodies and electronic chip-tune textures washed over the noisier moments of heavy cymbal and guitar assaults.
In quieter moments, potent silence gave way to Stewart’s unique and at times, theatrical vocal delivery that you could not help but submit your full attention to. During the build up to crowd favourite ‘Apistat Commander’, a guy on the far left of the crowd whispered, “this is the quietest show I’ve ever been to”. I thought he could have easily said the opposite and made just as much sense.
Words by Adam Carless
