This was my third time seeing Ireland's Bell X1, and it cemented the fact they have become one of my favorite bands to see live. As I mentioned last year after seeing them in the intimate setting of The Ark, these guys play arenas in their native country. American fans are incredibly lucky to get to see them in such a small venue. On a selfish level, I'd love for it to continue but Bell X1 should be playing to much bigger crowds in the States. It is still a mystery to me why this band is not bigger in America.
Although they have yet to make it to Detroit, Bell X1 has a good excuse. They seem to have fallen in love with Ann Arbor and it seems the perfect city in Michigan for them to play. Their first show at the Blind Pig was well attended, as have been these last two at The Ark. They've developed a nice fan base in the States, surely helped by the radio play and success of their single "The Great Defector" from 2009's "Blue Lights On The Runway" and the inclusion of some of their music on various television shows. But again, it makes no sense to me why the same American radio stations that played "The Great Defector" to death have ignored "Velcro", the radio friendly first single from their new album "Bloodless Coup".
Bitching about the state of radio in this country aside, it would appear any U.S. Tour from Bell X1 is sure to include an Ann Arbor stop, as they even came here on their acoustic tour of last year. Judging by lead singer Paul Noonan's comments from the stage, they love the city, and it is close enough so Detroit area fans can reap the benefits as well.
It's become obvious that the guys from Bell X1 have exceptional taste in selecting opening acts. For their October acoustic show at The Ark, the incredible James Vincent McMorrow opened the night and wowed the crowd. On this night, it was Jarrod Gorbel, formerly of the band The Honorary Title, performing songs from his first solo outing. He was joined onstage on most songs by another former band mate in The Honorary Title, Dustin Dobernig on keyboards. Gorbel's songs are acoustic based, folk-pop, well suited to his deeper singing voice. He played songs off his recent EP "Bruises From Your Bad Dreams" including "Mother/Father" and "Desperate Hands", with his set's highlight being that EP's duet "Miserable Without You". On record, Nicole Atkins joins Gorbel, but for this live performance he was joined by a local singer whom he said he had just met that day. The two pulled off a seamless duet and sounded great together, a really cool moment. Gorbel also has a full length, "Devil's Made A New Friend", coming in August and he performed a number of tracks off this as well. Definitely an album to watch for and another fine opening act for Bell X1.
The one new song I was hoping to hear the most from the headliner was "Hey Anna Lena", my favorite track off the new album, and when Bell X1 took to the stage and the sparse drum machine beat that opens the song started I knew we were in for a great night. The song built up to its mammoth conclusion, proving again how great these guys are live. This is a band used to playing in bigger venues overseas and it comes across seeing them in such an intimate setting. Bell X1 are at peak form live, such a tight unit onstage, be it outright rock, melodic pop, gorgeous acoustic laden ballads or the funkier, electronic side they explore on their new album. Paul Noonan sounds as good live as on record, much like it was with Adele, it is so refreshing to see someone perform live that truly can sing their ass off. There are no studio tricks needed for Mr. Noonan.
The set was heavy with tracks from "Bloodless Coup" as seven of the album's ten tracks were performed. But as we've come to find out during Bell X1's shows, they also throw in a nice mix of their more well known older songs, with a few surprises thrown in to keep you guessing. After the opener, they went back to their first U.S. release, 2008's "Flock" for the lovely ballad "Bad Skin Day", before going back even further to 2003's never released in America "Music In Mouth" for live staple "Next To You".
They returned to "Flock" for "Rocky Took A Lover" before the buzzy dance of their latest single "Velcro" got some ladies on the 'dance floor' off to the side of the stage. They kept the dance vibe going with a searing hot, extended performance of "My First Born For A Song", with Noonan jamming on his timbale/percussion set-up during the ending. They then returned to the new album for "Safer Than Love".
Noonan introduced "Eve, The Apple Of My Eye" as the song that broke the band in the U.S. thanks to its inclusion on a key episode of the show The O.C. As he did at past shows, he was unapologetic saying, 'You take your breaks however you get 'em folks'. He then gave way to multi-instrumentalist David Geraghty who sang lead on the new album's "Built To Last". They then got the dance floor fired up again with the disco/rock of "Flame". Their hit "The Great Defector" was next before they closed the main set out with the funkified "4 Minute Mile".
The setlists on the stage showed "Just Like Mr. Benn" was planned to be the first song of the encore, but the band changed things up with a rare performance of the ballad "Slowset" from their debut album, 2000's "Neither Am I". This was quite a surprise and the beautiful acoustic rendition went over well. They then closed out the encore, and the night, with two more songs off the new album, the mid-tempo ballad "Nightwatchmen" and another of my favorites, the dance/rock of "Sugar High" which brought the show to an end.
The band thanked the crowd one last time for coming out and Noonan said the words everyone in attendance were thrilled to hear, "We'll see you in the fall". If that turns out to be true, look for another write-up here as I'll surely be there. I simply won't miss an opportunity to see Bell X1 perform live. On top of the top notch musicianship I mentioned above, the guys in the band are incredibly loose and funny onstage. Noonan always has some funny stories to share throughout the set, and his band mates join in as well. We were lucky enough to be sitting right up front at center stage, literally within arm's length of the band, and it took the show to another level getting to see them perform that close. Rory Doyle is as solid a drummer live as you'll see and Geraghty, Dominic Philips and Marc Aubele all take turns between bass, keyboards and guitar.
The Ark has a pretty strict policy on flash photography so I only snapped a few shots near the end of the set. Normally I like to get a lot more pictures, but it was also nice to just sit and enjoy a show without trying to get as many pictures as possible. I'll say it again, this band deserves wider recognition in the States, even with the solid following they now have. They're versatile, smart, incredibly polished, yet not afraid to experiment and try new directions in their music. All reasons why they've become one of my favorite bands to see live, do not miss them if they come to your area.
I was there, nice review, I hope that I can catch them again in the Fall.
Posted by: Joel T. | June 14, 2011 at 03:28 PM
Thanks for the kind words and for reading Joel, I'll definitely make it up to Ann Arbor anytime they return.
Posted by: Mike Antonich | June 14, 2011 at 09:15 PM