On Thursday, Alan Sparhawk performed at EartH Theatre in Dalston, London, joined by his son Cyrus on bass and Erik Pollard on drums. For me, as a dedicated Low fan, it felt absolutely unreal to witness Alan Sparhawk performing live. The music he created with Mimi Parker has always felt charged with something surreal and ethereal. Vocally and instrumentally, they seemed to access another plane, full of beauty, melancholy, and chaos simultaneously. They captured concepts and emotions I’ve rarely seen expressed outside of classical music; something transcendent and sacred, almost like we shouldn’t be listening. Low’s music has gone with me into the very dark places without trying to retrieve me from them. It’s what moved me enough to channel my experiences into writing, and sitting in that room and hearing that same familiar voice live did not NOT make me cry.

The audience was a distinctly poised, tender, and patient crowd; an energy that felt deeply attuned to the music. The venue layout contributed to this energy; large steps that also served as seating. With no center aisle and generous legroom, every attendee had an unobstructed view, lending the night a casual intimacy more reminiscent of a cozy outdoor show than a formal concert hall. The crowd itself was composed of a scattered representation of age groups, leaning more towards older fans, people who have been following his musical journey since his beginnings in the early nineties. The quiet attentiveness of the audience felt like a kind of reverence.

Opening with a song from his previous album, White Roses, My God, ‘Get Still’, a heavy and digitally disguised performance with strong autotune, Alan Sparhawk danced and hopped around the stage along with the brooding and dense track with the heavy nonchalance of flinging something precious to the wind.

Alan’s performance did not disappoint, and there’s no universe, I believe, where it could’ve. With such an emotionally charged vocal performance, the atmosphere was suffused with the contradiction of both playful and heavy tenderness. Even his guitar playing and instrumentals were dense and dripping with emotion. His voice was even better live as well, occupying the space of the room and absorbed by the people so eager to bask in it. There was a gaunt elegance to his performance, his head bowed under the stage lights as he navigated the notes of his guitar, his silhouette radiating with an almost effulgent glow.

The band played most, if not all, of Sparhawk’s most recent album collaboration with Trampled By Turtles. Including most noteworthy ‘Too High’, ‘Stranger’, ‘Heaven’, ‘Not Broken’, and ‘Screaming Song’. Each track was infused with an electric quality live, playing a bit heavier than the studio version and branching off into occasional improvisational instrumentals at times.

There was one point where the band entirely succumbed to a building and explosive instrumental, charged in percussion and guitar, and rooted altogether by the bass. Sparhawk seemed entirely lost in it, delicate at points and surrendering to chaos at others. Wherever he went, he brought you with him.

Words by Sydney Peterson
Photo by Claire Alaxandra

Order tickets for Alan Sparhawk HERE