On a rainy night in London, four guys from Staines lit up the stage of the Troxy in East London. This was always going to be a special gig and the sold-out crowd were ready for this highly-anticipated set from Hard-Fi.
The band had been on hiatus for almost a decade and played a one-off gig at the 02 Kentish Forum last year followed by their only festival appearance in the UK this year at Victorious Festival. Hard-Fi are no strangers to selling out venues, and have historically sold out five consecutive nights at Brixton Academy.
As always, their set starts with a harmonica playing the evocative Once Upon A Time In The West by Ennio Morricone which echoes around The Troxy – an Grade II-listed Art Deco building that is positively resplendent.
It’s the moment we have all been waiting for – Hard-Fi are here and they kick off with the familiar notes of the rousing ‘Middle Eastern Holiday’ from their critically-acclaimed album ‘Stars Of CCTV’ which was one of their most political tracks on their groundbreaking 2005 album which was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize and sold over a million copies.
Richard, Ross, Steve and Kai are on fire and execute every track magnificently, delivering slam dunk renditions of tracks from the aforementioned ‘Stars of CCTV’, but also tracks from their sophomore album ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ and 2011’s ‘Killer Sounds’.
It was great to see three tracks from the sublime ‘Killer Sounds’ on the set list, ‘Good For Nothing’, ‘Fire In The House’ and the epic ‘Stay Alive’ which were absolutely fantastic.
‘Watch Me Fall Apart’ with Richard on shared vocals by Bruce Breakey (who is one half of alternative indie duo ‘Good Health Good Wealth’) delivered an impassioned and mesmerising performance which showcased Bruce’s fantastic stage presence.
Richard and Bruce delivered a dynamic, intense and emotional rendition of what is one of the best tracks on ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’.
As well as a much-needed nostalgia trip into both classic and deep cuts in the Hard-Fi back catalogue, the band also debuted a brand-new track ‘Always and Forever’ which is chock-full of twangy guitars and even sees frontman Richard Archer picking up his six-string to this rousing and anthemic track.
He also breaks out his trusty melodica to drive the unique sound that kicks off two of the classics: ‘Cash Machine’ and ”Better Do Better. The former track which was on ‘Stars of CCTV’ still feels as relevant today than it ever did with lyrics like ‘I scratch a living, it ain’t easy / You know it’s a drag/ I’m always paying, never make it’ and the band plays with an almost ferocity which is felt by the crowd who sing it back to the band.
One of the best things about Hard-Fi is that they are all compelling and talented musicians in their own right, but collectively they create a really compelling music alchemy.
Richard Archer, frontman and sometime guitarist had charisma in abundance and conveys his disbelief that over 3000 hard core Hard-Fi fans have made the journey to watch them perform. He seems pretty moved and tells the enraptured crowd that it blows their mind that they are able to do this twenty years on and that we don’t know what it means to him and the rest of the band.
The emotion is felt, especially with the encore which consists of the excellent ‘Move On Now’ the titular track to their stunning debut and of course as it was a Saturday night ‘Living For The Weekend’ which closed the show.
From the superb ‘Suburban Knights’ which sees some serious audience participation from the crowd to the joyous and brilliant ‘Hard to Beat’ which saw the energy levels reach unsurpassed levels of delight, the set was an absolute triumph and the band executed a truly energetic and exemplary performance.
At one point throughout the energetic set, Richard asks the crowd: “So London, do we still have it?” and the unequivocal answer is a definitive yes! Hard-Fi have always had it, but on a rain-soaked night in London, they reminded everyone of their musical prowess and not only what an impressive back catalogue they have, but how incredible they are as live performances.
Richard Archer declared that he promises that next time the wait won’t be so long and after such a momentous display, we can’t help but think that we will be seeing Hard-Fi perform again very soon.
Photo Credit: Simon Reed
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