Antony and the Johnsons – The Barbican, London 30/10/08

Tonight was no ordinary gig, but then any show involving Antony Hegarty rarely is. This was Antony’s first full show in the UK for three years, since his victory in the 2005 Mercury Music Prize catapulted him from cult figure to the fringes of the mainstream.

The evening was essentially to showcase some of next years The Crying Light record, but took in old material and the odd (odd being the operative word) cover version along the way. Notoriously wary of the spotlight, Antony began the show in the dark, with only the massed ranks of the London Symphony Orchestra lit up behind him. He would remain unlit or in the shadows for much of the show, almost ghostly in his lack of presence, as the moving strings and muted horns accompanied one of the most distinctive voices of a generation. Nico Huhly, who created the arrangements in collaboration with Antony has been a frequent collaborator with Phillip Glass, and it showed in the beautiful and slightly etherial quality to the compositions.

There is something deliberately otherworldly to Antony’s presence, his awkward, exaggerated gestures, toga like outfit and arm movements making him seem like a statue from a Greek tragedy made flesh, and it at times makes for uncomfortable viewing, as it does when the orchestra cuts from early single ‘I Fell In Love With A Dead Boy’ leaving the whole room in silence for 30-40 seconds. As the show moved on, Hegarty’s confidence grew visibly, as did his physical presence. It was nothing if not theatrical. And this is where people may have a problem with Antony – this was not simply about the music, nor was it a standard rock show – it was very much a performance. Scaling up from the chamber pop to the full orchestral backing seems to be a natural progression for Hegarty, a vindication of all that has gone before.

Of the new material, ‘Kiss My Name’ was particularly breathtaking, built around a stuttering, percussive, quasi tribal sound from the string section that called to mind former Antony collaborator Bjork. Perhaps the most interesting moment of the night however was when Antony started singing ‘I look and stare so deep into your eyes/I touch on you more and more every time’. A few titters and applause go around the audience, but it is only when he hits the chorus that the whole room realises that the super serious, otherworldly Antony is in fact covering ‘Crazy In Love’ by Beyonce. It is interesting that this is the only point where Antony looks truly comfortable on stage, moving to the music, enjoying the interpretation of another persons song.

There were moments of pure magic when Antony’s soaring voice and the LSO intertwined- an emotional, breathtaking performance. That said, listening to Antony’s voice as an instrument, rather than the lyrics was at times a neccesity, with some of the lyrics descending in to absolute doggrel. In all honesty, the chilling beauty of some of the music tonight deserved better than rhyming ‘Everything is New’ with ‘Sock and Shoe’, or ‘I Picked a flower/ it gave me power’.

While I was prepared to write that Antony had crafted a beautiful but tragically detached image of himself in the nights performance, the person who took the stage for the encore of ‘River of Sorrow’ was almost a completely different performer. Clearly moved by the standing ovation he received for the first part of the show, he thanked the audience, before leaving a pause and asking, with a smile if they wanted tea. He then went on to explain the origins of the name ‘The Johnsons’ and the context of the song ‘River of Sorrow’ (the two are intertwined). It is clear that the song still moves him deeply, and in this simple act he ceased to be this cold, other worldly entity, and revealed his truly human side.

Set List:
‘Mysteries Of Love’ (Julee Cruise cover, as used in Blue Velvet)
‘Christina’s Farm’
‘Cripple And The Starfish’
‘For Today I Am A Boy’
‘(Fell In Love With A) Dead Boy’
‘Kiss My Name’
‘Everglade’
‘Rapture’
‘Ghost’
‘Another World’
‘Crazy In Love’
‘Everything Is New’
‘Her Eyes Are Underneath The Ground’
‘River Of Sorrow’

Antony and the Johnsons on MySpace

Thanks to Natalia Urazmetova for the photographs.