Forbes columnist and top AR/VR consultant, Charlie Fink makes the latest developments in this growing field accessible to technical and non-technical audiences alike.Five stars." There's no "apparently" about it. A perfectly-executed cover of Daft Punk's 'Digital Love' offers a suitably euphoric end to the night and the residency, with a rather too well-behaved audience finally breaking theatre protocol and leaping to their feet for a boogie.Įlsewhere, most of the big hits are all present and correct - 'Five Years' Time' and 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N' make late appearances - and while it would have been nice to hear 'Jocasta' and 'Shape of My Heart', that's a fairly minor quibble in the grand scheme of things.Ĭommenting on how Noah and the Whale's temporary sign had been placed in especially close proximity to the rave reviews for Singing in the Rain, Fink quips: "Wall-to-wall pleasure is what you get with Noah and the Whale, apparently. There are one or two surprises on offer, too - Anna Calvi joins the band to sing and play guitar on 'Heart of Nowhere' for the first time live, for starters. 'Waiting For My Chance To Come' and a dramatic rendition of 'The First Days of Spring' certainly allow him to shine. While Fink's baritone and storytelling qualities are endearing, and form the backbone of a lot of Noah and the Whale's repertoire, Hobden's exceptional, enviable skills earn him a compliment from the crowd for his fiddle (a new instrument, we are told by Fink). Speaking of strings, the moments when Tom Hobden is allowed to let rip on the violin are truly memorable. (In fact, it provokes a lone shout of "That is the best song EVER!" from the audience). It's a delight to hear 'Old Joy' - the closing track from 2011's Last Night on Earth - and 'Love of an Orchestra', even minus its soaring strings, is simply sensational. 'Tonight's the Kind of Night', when stripped of some of its FM radio gloss and given a semi-acoustic treatment, still stands up as a great tune. The shinier, poppier numbers from the new album such as 'Silver and Gold' and 'Lifetime' don't inspire as much as older fare in the live arena, but that's because Noah and the Whale are at their strongest when they take their older tracks and give them a new lease of life. As a companion piece to the new record and its themes of nostalgia and lost youth, it certainly makes sense. Set in a dystopian future where teenagers are rounded up, driven away in the back of transit vans and taken away to be reprogrammed, it doesn't exactly break boundaries, but it does gets you thinking about your own past, identity, solidarity, rebellion and the role of creativity in society. 'Blue Skies' oozes sorrow, and 'I Have Nothing' is especially poignant, with frontman Fink lamenting like he's lived through a century of pain.Ī short film to Heart of Nowhere, directed and co-written by Fink, airs in between the band's two sets. Instead, they play to their hardcore following by showing due respect to their entire back catalogue, and the first acoustic set in particular leans on the tales of doom, gloom and heartbreak on their second album, 2009's The First Days of Spring. The band aren't too reliant on their new record Heart of Nowhere, as might have been expected when first touring a new album. Adopting a beautiful and historic venue that's the natural home of West End musicals rather than established folk-turned-pop bands is an interesting move, and it allows them to do things a little differently tonight. This is the most avant-garde production of Singing in the Rain you've ever seen," quips Charlie Fink during Noah and the Whale's final Sunday in residence at the Palace Theatre.
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