Bibio w/ Lone – The Garage, London 26/05/11

The (somewhat infamous) Garage in Islington isn’t really considered to be the usual space for a show such as this – it’s probably known more for housing guitars than beats. It has that lingering stench of neck-wrenching metal club nights and overpriced Friday evenings, but a quick stand by the bar and rattle of the bones goes to emphasise just how strong a position this line up is to cross over into such arenas. So it’s left to Leatherette‘s warm up of rehashed 90′s floor fillers (oh, and some very welcome Prince interludes) to kick off the night in fine style. Electro swagger mixed with some classic melodies was always going be an ideal Friday night tonic, whatever the crowd. But prefacing the rest of tonight’s eccentric electronic musos probably leaves them more Oceana than The End they, and we, so desire.

Then, with the immediacy of being Tangoed, Lone waltzes on thrusting the kind of tropical beat more applicable to a classic Brixton Market than an Islington booze den. Rolling through slow, sun drenched breaks and rave-prime synths makes him akin to a less earnest Zomby – like we are all actually here in 1992, as opposed to questioning where we were. Of course, never much to watch, he’s left to whip a pretty docile, early crowd into a timely frenzy of dance. But it never really quite lights up as his set definitely deserves – heads bob and wane until a baseline objects against the placid nature of everything, shuffling them towards a point of freedom. Such a set of electronic hedonism may not be applicable to such a space, such a crowd. But Lone’s talent is undeniable – put him in a place where hands aren’t afraid to be thrown into the air and that air will change for the better.

Besides, it’s the headliner who many are here to see (or more, here to sway with). Bibio‘s recent Warp output – namely this year’s Mind Bokeh and 2009′s Ambivalence Avenue – have seen his name skyrocket into a new plain of recognition, Kindle advert regardless. It’s his live sets that have had less ubiquity, making tonight all the more special for those in attendance who swiftly flood the Garage’s less-booze-soaked-than-expected dancefloor. Slated as an ‘electronic set’ leaves little to the imagination as it is – stood behind a table of wires and pedals does little to help his cause from the Laymans perspective. But a beach stained break into ‘Anything New’ sets his performance’s tone well. From there on in, it’s a relentless pounding of immaculate 80s style non-samples and brilliantly off-kilter beats that grip everyone in sight and, finally, see a sense of worthy abandon within the crowd.

There are few who may be able to deny a similarity to our beloved Star Slinger – a man whose sampling abilities and beautifully melodic inclinations, like Bibio’s, have become almost second to none. But where Mr. Jenkinson prospers is in a mature level of dexterity of sound, a strength that has built through multiple releases and a steadily growing level of devout fandom. Mutating tracks like ‘Sugarette’ and ‘In The Flowers’ into unrecognisable, yet completely addictive, new beasts is something you rarely hear in any live performance, and a talent that only enhances the reverence thrown his way tonight. It’s to his immense credit that he never plays to that unspoken want of similarity and it allows him to become even more potent at recognising this often untrodden live environment.

As the set progresses, the swinging of heads begins to make sense. He becomes an ironic, stationary king of jolting everyone into a state of movement at every turn of tune – there’s no care as to any hardened pretended. His songs are filled with such a beautiful, romantic core that it’s exterior of electronics becomes moot. Everyone moves to the same rhythm. There is no choice. Even his sonic intricacies become a peripheral part of the parcel, swamped in a joyous whole of noise. And that’s why he stands as such a brilliant live artist – fandom or otherwise, there’s (albeit strangely) something for everyone here. ‘Crossover’ be damned – sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy. The fact that he almost looks bored towards the end of his set actually only adds to his unexpected nonchalance. As he tips his non-existent hat to the crowd, his beaming smile bows down to the computer once more to smash through two-and-a-half minutes of shameless, brutal breaks. It is an encore befitting of a brilliant evening of unexpected charm and one that everyone hopes to treasure more often than little.