Truth

One of the problems of the rapid rise to success is having to headline in support of your first album. You’re going to have to play all of the material, whether or not it’s all going to work live. Can be difficult.

White Lies showed up at the Barrowland last night on the back of much critical acclaim and a splendid #1 selling debut. Good though the record is and much as their sound seems made for the festival and arena, the boys need to be able to translate and interpret it live. The Barrowland is a decent size to sell out and always a good atmosphere. All the ingredients are there, but I was still interested in how they and the material would make the transition.

A couple of support acts is also standard for the limited main setlist, and Wintersleep from Nova Scotia kicked things off in decent indie-rock style, even having the nerve to finish with a pretty good 10 minute epic. School of Seven Bells, however, disappointed. Once the novelty of the twin sisters singing in harmony wore off (approx 11.6 seconds), it was just sub-new age warbling over guitars and drum machine. Next…

Minimal set, straightforward lighting and all black attire marked White Lies entry. Good. Can concentrate on the music and delivery. They didn’t disappoint. Whilst the album can sometimes seem overproduced, live brings a new interpretation. Stronger and harder, certainly, but you can hear also the gaps (if you follow), which is as important.

A strong start with A Place to Hide and an excellent …Fairground and the crowd are into it. Delivery is strong, and they look like they’re enjoying it. Not a huge amount of chat and posturing, but then they don’t seem that sort of band. The “live-worthy” limitations of having only one album of material are evident, and I suspect 4 or 5 songs won’t make the cut for the second and third album setlists. They are still strong songs in their own right, though, and if they never make it live again at least we heard them.

Guess what - the best songs on the record are the best live. To Lose My Life and Unfinished Business rock hard, and Fifty on our Forehead was excellent. Hardened, extended and rocking, it was the highlight of the main set. Hat tip for the previously unheard Taxidermy too.

The other conundrum is where you play your best song. Open with it or stick it at the end of the encores? White Lies opted to save Death for the end and it’s the right decision. Many much much bigger bands would sacrifice significant anatomy to have a song this strong in their armoury, and it’s a soaring, brilliant end to the night. I recommend leaving it there for good.

A really strong set that highlighted their strengths and showed that with another couple of equally powerful albums worth of material behind them, the migration to much bigger things is almost assured.

Setlist (corrected)

A Place To Hide

Farewell To The Fairground

To Lose My Life

Taxidermy 

From The Stars 

Unfinished Business 

EST 

Fifty on Our Forehead 

Price of Love 

Nothing To Give   

The Rip (Portishead cover) 

Death