The best band in the world

LAU

It's Eddi Reader's fault. We were seeing her for the third or fourth time and there was the obligatory support act. Most are competent warmers-up, enjoyable but rarely exciting. Out came a good looking, gently smiling, young guy who introduced himself in a soft Orcadian accent and proceeded to make my jaw drop with his singing and guitar work. It had been a long time since I'd seen someone who had such an immediate affect upon my senses. One look at the face of Barbara, my wife, confirmed I wasn't alone in this. We both thought he was one of the most exciting musicians we'd ever seen and immediately rushed to buy his CD in the interval. It was a bonus to find he was also performing as lead guitarist, and backing vocalist, in Eddi's band so we got to watch him for the rest of the concert. It wasn't just the music itself, but seeing the enjoyment, intensity and perfectionism of his performance that marked him out as someone very special who we would have to see again.

His name was Kris Drever and we have since seen him many times playing in various line-ups. All have been memorable experiences, but the best are offered by the trio we are seeing again on Saturday. Not long after that Eddi gig there was a brochure in the post to say that a new band called Lau would be appearing at the local Arts Centre in Southport and I noticed that this Drever guy was a member. Tickets were swiftly booked.

I am not in least bit musical. I can just about claim to hold a tune when singing, but that's about it. So, like most people, I am only a consumer of music, but I love to see how each musician plays their part in the whole, how the various instruments combine to produce the overall sound. Lucky then that the genre that attracts me most strongly is folk, for venues are usually smaller, more intimate, providing the chance to observe closely and gain some comprehension of how the disparate elements combine. And a trio are the perfect grouping to watch and understand.

The best live music will exhilarate, fascinate, engage emotions and intellect, leave the watcher buzzing with the sheer pleasure of the event. But sometimes music can have a more elemental appeal to the emotions, not just making me cry or smile, but reaching deep into something near-primeval, the feeling that this sound was created to speak directly to my inner self. There have been many great bands and singers that have established themselves in my psyche, but only two where I received the sense that what I was hearing was already a part of me. The first was Alan Stivell, back in the seventies when I was just 18. Whilst the song, Tri Martolod, was in Breton and the lyrics incomprehensible to me, it felt like someone had jolted my body into a state of life I'd never known before. I went on to see him live half a dozen times, usually on my own for nobody I knew shared this passion, and loved every minute of it.

By now you'll have guessed what comes next. That second voltaic musical experience came in Southport, watching and listening to Lau. It was folk, but not as we know it Jim. Theirs was a music like nothing else I'd encountered before and, so my mind and body told me, written just for my enjoyment. Tempo varied wildly, themes were established, twisted, torn apart and put back together. Discordant jazz-like passages threatened to go off down blind alleys only to make perfect sense as the central melody re-established itself. The songs were haunting, Kris' voice as perfect as it had been the first time. As performers all three were witty and fascinating to watch, very physical performers who threw themselves wholeheartedly into their art. Aidan with the quiet smile, his fiddle an intrinsic part of his body, twisting in his seat and lifting a leg as the tune took off. Kris hunched over his guitar or leaning way back, exchanging secret smiles with the others, eyes closed to the passion of his own vocals. Martin short and explosive, unpredictable, looking like the dormouse from Alice in Wonderland during quieter passages and transforming into a Muppet on speed as his accordion squealed out noises it's maker had probably not anticipated.

It was the perfect evening. Talking to the band after it was good to find they were every bit as friendly and normal as their stage personas intimated (not always the case....). A CD was purchased and played. And played. Until I knew every note. Which enhanced the enjoyment at the next gig. And the next one.

Several years later and I remain ready to tell anyone who'll listen that Lau are, to me, the greatest band in the world. Sometimes it's hard to explain why, because it's very difficult to find a comparable sound that others might have heard of. I really don't know of anybody quite like them. OK, I've become something of a hardcore fan. I'm losing count of the number off Lau gigs I've been to. As many as budget and practicalities have allowed. I have three band tee shirts and we have a signed Lau canvas bag framed and hung on the wall. I was one of the first to make advance payment for the latest album. A Lau CD is always first in the car autochanger because I know that if I start to feel sleepy those sounds will make me smile, move and stay awake. Despite all this I still just about retain enough of my discriminatory faculties to know they are not a band that everyone will like. Their passion to push boundaries means this is not easy listening music.

One of our more recent Lau gigs was at the first Lau Land event in London. I met up with a friend who had never heard of them, but could see my passion for the subject. So I directed her towards Hinba, which I always think is the perfect introductory track for the Lau newbie, a combination of a striking, developing melody and wild jazziness to take the breath away. If you like it straight away you'll probably 'get' the Lau sound, if not then maybe they are not for you. Anyway, she has booked tickets for Lau Land next month so maybe I have made another convert. But others sometimes find it to be too much like hard work for their ears.

Being a fan of the eclectic trio does prove stretching at times. The first two studio albums, and both live albums, have been easy to adore immediately, as was the EP made with Karine Polwart. However Lau vs Adem was a side step in a new direction and on first hearing I didn't know what to make of it. But this was Lau, and I had enough faith in them to know that if I persevered I would be rewarded. It took about eight listenings, but I was right, and it proved ideal preparation for the Race The Loser album which contains a mix of 'traditional' Lau sounds combined with added electronic experimentation. There are even passages which sound like modernised chamber music, Mozart for the 21st century. Can't wait to see what comes next.....

A great band is so much more than just the music. Some give live performances where there is so little interaction with the audience that you feel you might as well have sat at home and played the recording. Kris, Martin and Aidan all put their personalities and humour into the introductions to the tunes and the audience are made to feel a part of the performance. They all turn out for chat and signings and photos after the gig.

Lau have been enthusiastic adopters of social media and I follow them on both Twitter  and Facebook.  As well as being the best way to learn about planned tours and projects it helps to be able to understand the people behind the music I love.  It further endears them to me that they have political views close to my own, often reflected in song lyrics (Ghosts never fails to bring out a tear). Ten years ago the acquisition of such knowledge would have been called stalking! Technology has made that level of interaction a bit less creepy (hopefully) than it once was.

Over the years I have seen Lau in Liverpool, Dunfermline, London, Stirling, Edinburgh and several other places. On Saturday it will be Liverpool once again, this time in the magnificent setting of Saint George's Hall. Moorhens is playing in the background as I type this final paragraph, Aidan's haunting fiddle line accompanying my thoughts. And that's happiness.

Lau playing Hinba live in Leeds, 2011