Black Country, New Road Live at o2 Shepherd's Bush Empire - 11/10/2023

Black Country, New Road returned to London for the first time since the release of Live at Bush Hall, six months ago, playing the album in full at the o2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
 
Bush Hall is just a few minutes walk away from tonight’s venue, a smaller and more intimate venue to the Empire, but it emphasised the growth of BC, NR and their return to London was both emotional and triumphant. And big!

For their first release post-Isaac Wood, the band had a lot of expectations to overcome.
The result was a glorious live performance, played out in its full glory at the Empire. 
With three new, unreleased songs also played, ‘24/7 365 British Summer Time’, ‘Horses’ and ‘Nancy Tries To Takes The Night’,  the show was elevated to a new level as the additions fleshed out the theatrical performance further.

BC, NR revel in the theatrical elements their live performances bring, with suits and dresses, beautiful lighting and the slow build of every track that explodes with sound at the end.
‘I Won’t Always Love You’ - which featured the best build-up from the slow and acoustic beginning that ended with all members of the band rocking out to deliver the cathartic and emotional punch needed from the song. 

‘Turbines/Pigs’ was the absolute highlight of the night however, with May Kershaw and Georgia Ellery (playing the piano and violin respectively) leading with an emotional ballad fraught with heartbreak. 
As the rest of the band joined - Tyler Hyde, Lewis Evans, Charlie Wayne and Luke Mark - the tempo picks up and features a now familiar and climactic ending. 

The track maintains the same lyrics and does not branch out into another, different style, remaining consistent as the changes in the song are only instrumental and tempo changes. This helps provide some contrast in their set from their other songs, where changes are more stylistic and can often seem like a whole new song when the section changes. Doing this with ‘Turbines/Pigs’ avoids repetitiveness and creates more memorable moments within the songs - a key factor needed for ensuring longevity with a performance or project.

Black Country, New Road’s two sold-out shows in London prove that the band have a bright future post-Isaac, with creativity abounding both in the studio and on the stage, and also that they are one of the most important progressive bands right now with a reputation that is rightfully earned again and again each show.