Polarbear @ The Cluny 12/10/08

Sunday evenings at the Cluny are always more than a pleasurable experience, especially when combined with good company, good food from the Cluny’s kitchen, a pint of Budvar, and some live music. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the bands playing, all I had heard was that it was jazz, which I have rather mixed feelings towards. Good old Dave Brubeck and the likes, I really enjoy, ultra modern stuff, not such a fan, and unfortunately the first band fell in to the latter category.
I should have guessed, judging by the audience mainly consisting of men in their 20s to 40s, nearly all wearing trendy flat caps. This was to be a gig for musicians by musicians. The first band were a VERY experimental Jazz trio. The kind that to the unknown ear, just sounds like a really annoying mosquito that won’t leave you alone, combined with the sound of kitchen shelves collapsing, leaving pots and pans crashing to the floor.
I can appreciate the musical ability it takes to play such complicated music, with off beats, but to me the beats are so off, it seems completely lacking in rhythm. I’m sure that the music would be well fitting for an arty independent thriller film, but in this case it just made me stressed, and I have to admit I was delighted when they stopped playing at 9:45 a guy with absolutely huge hair (Sebastian Rochford, drummer) walked on stage followed by the other four band members of Polarbear, the evenings main act. The gig began with a Seb addressing the audience in his timid voice, almost apologizing for his existence. When the audience started clapping, he modestly replied shy and mumbling, “thank you, but you haven’t heard us yet”. After the short banter between Seb and the Audience, sounds began emerging from the left of the stage where Tom was crouched behind his Mac book, with what basically looked like a PS2 controller and a bag of crisps over a microphone. However pretentious this seemed, the sound was captivating and the audience where immediately enticed.
The first track, Want To Believe picked up with nice melodic sax, accompanied by up beat rocky drums. The set continued including rhythms from jungle, and drum and base to reggae and jazz, as well as “instruments” such as the electric guitar played with a bow, saxophone tapping, and squeals of a balloon loosing air.
I was pleasantly surprised by Polar Bear’s ability to combine modern jazz, with melodic dreamy tunes, which captivated the audience leaving their faces deeply serious and concentrated, throughout the gig. The set was well performed, with sexy beats, intricate and unique sounds, combined with smooth overtones from the tenor sax duo, and deep double base riffs.
The set lasted just over an hour, plus an encore requested by the applauding crowd. I very much enjoyed it, although they tended to draw the indulgent parts out a bit too long. It was slight case of the emperor’s new clothes, so to say that the audience seemed to lack criticism, and took Polarbear, as they perhaps do themselves, a little too seriously.

Set list:
1) Want to believe
2) Fluffy
3) Industry
4) Tom loves Alice
5) Goodbye
6) Dub
7) Happy for you


For more info visit http://www.myspace.com/sebastianrochford

Words and photos Emilia Flockhart