Sexwitch at XOYO

Sexwitch 
Baba Naga

XOYO, 29 September 2015

When Natasha Khan, the enchantress behind Bat For Lashes, revealed she would be playing a tiny gig in support of her surprise side project with indie band Toy and producer Dan Carey, of course I didn't even need to hear the music to know I wanted to go. It was a rare opportunity to see Khan perform in a small venue and besides the project - psychedelic covers of obscure traditional folk songs from around the world - sounded more than intriguing. It was enough anyway to entice me to brave the terrible Old Street nightclub that is XOYO and join other Khan obsessives to see the debut gig of Sexwitch (which I must say is such an awful name, such a shame it wasn't Red Witch as many fans speculated it might be).

Sufjan Stevens at the Royal Festival Hall

Sufjan Stevens

Madisen Ward And The Mama Bear

Royal Festival Hall, 2 September 2015

Seeing Sufjan Stevens live has to be one of the most sublime and exhilarating experiences I've ever had. I've seen him once before of course, on his Age Of Adz tour, which was something of a spectacular music extravaganza, that left you full of the joy of life. His new album, Carrie & Lowell, though is all about death, in particular the death of his mother and the complicated relationship he had with her. The album, not surprisingly, is quiet and powerful and more reminiscent of his earlier acoustic album, Seven Swans (which just happens to be my favourite Sufjan album) so I anticipated a more low-key acoustic show but what I got was so much more.