It was a very windy night in London when Mandolin Orange were due to grace the city, but that didn’t stop the flurry of people that filled the roads around where the Borderline venue is situated (just off Oxford Street). That sense of buzz later filtered into the club itself, although initially you could hear a pin drop as Benedict Benjamin charmed the early attendees with a serene, wintry set of folk tunes. He took to the stage as a tall and unassuming young lad, and such a persona served as a blueprint for how he would approach the rest of his set. With heavy reverb on his vocals and just an acoustic guitar to accompany him, Benedict’s music was for the most part laid-back and gentle (it did have moments of drama and tension), with a piercing voice that echoed more than his guitar did.
During those performances the audience was silent, although as time went on and more entered the venue, chatter began to rise at the quieter moments. Rather socially awkward and with an almost monotone speaking voice, Benedict used his woodenness to his advantage and twisted it into a dry sense of humour that had the crowd laughing loudly in appreciation. He wasn’t the most dynamic of performers, but he was talented and interesting. My only gripe was that at times the overall sound levels were too high; he could have done with being turned down a little.
As soon as the support act left the stage everyone who had been sitting quietly suddenly stood up and surged forward, and immediately what had seemed like a barely-full venue was buzzing 25 minutes before the headliners came to the stage. This was when it began to seem like this windy Tuesday night in the centre of London was the place to be, the crowd thoroughly engaged as soon as North Carolina natives Emily Frantz and Andrew Marlin stepped into the smoky blue spotlight. I must admit that my coming to this show was something of an accident; I found myself taking over from another writer when circumstances changed, and I had not listened to the group prior to entering that venue. Such a lack of planning on my part however could lead to hearing them in their rawest capacity, with no bias based on their studio material and simply fresh ears tuned in.
And certainly, I was impressed. Each playing multiple instruments throughout (fiddle, mandolin, and electric guitar were used alternately while an acoustic guitar was passed between them), they showed incredible synchronicity and a chemistry that revealed their many years on the road together. Playing bluegrass-inflected Americana, they produced sweet, joyful music between the two of them that was backed up by Andrew’s lead vocal and Emily’s harmonies. Often road-weary musicians can seem like they’re just going through the motions, but Mandolin Orange appeared genuinely happy to be there, all smiles as the packed-out Borderline wooped and cheered. They laughed, too; Andrew in particular had plenty of jokes to fill stage patter time as they tuned their instruments and introduced new songs. They both quipped about how this was their biggest headlining London show – although, this was also just their first headlining London show.
With Emily dressed in dark skinny jeans and a white boxy tee, and Andrew in dark boot-cut jeans and a blue and a red plaid shirt, they looked like simple modern country folk, a little bit city but altogether unassuming. But their music was perfectly rootsy, warm and inviting; at one point they played the invigorating ‘New Five Cent Piece’, what Emily described as some “real Appalachian fiddle music”, something that the audience went wild for. There were moments of virtuoso peppered into the set, but the audience was always quick to show their appreciation for the sheer talent on offer. The duo ran through a number of songs from their most recent album ‘Such Jubilee’ as well as old favourites, for example ‘Cavalry’, which was inspired by watching Lord of The Rings high on pain killers after Andrew broke his pelvis. They also played a very well received tribute to the victims of the recent Paris attacks, a song written originally about the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. All were excellent, and they didn’t put a foot wrong.
The night was a mostly light-hearted 75 minutes of great bluegrass music, filled with jokes and high spirits. I was very disappointed to leave just before the end as I had to catch a train, but I was glad I had accidentally ended up in this crowd of music appreciators, watching Mandolin Orange kill it on stage. I will certainly check out their back catalogue now, and be sure to pay attention next time they cross over the water.
Originally posted here.
