LIVE REVIEW: Stand Atlantic, Lauran Hibberd, The Dead Love, Electric Ballroom, London, 19/02/2022
It may be a cliché but, in this case, it’s definitely true that all good things come to those who wait. In July 2020, Stand Atlantic announced an eight-city headline UK tour for April 2021, however unfortunately due to Covid-19 it was delayed until February 2022.
Fans have awaited their return to the UK with much anticipation and their patience was finally rewarded. Helping Stand Atlantic celebrate their triumphant return to the UK were support acts Lauran Hibberd and The Dead Love.
First up were The Dead Love with a performance that was a great example of why being there when doors open is a good idea. Sometimes you find an artist that you know will be making an appearance on your streaming playlists in the future. Being introduced to The Dead Love for the first time live was awesome. They really brought their A-Game. Vocals from Stevie Knight were almost perfect with Clint Ossington on bass and Miles Cochrane on drums perfectly complementing each other. 9/10
Coming in strong next was Hibberd giving a good performance with her band that riled up the crowd who seemed very taken with her. She commented that where some people had come all the way from Australia for this show, she herself had come quite far. From the Isle of Wight. There was a faction of Lauran fans down front making her feel very welcome on her trip over from the Isle of Wight. Lauran Hibberd’s high-energy performance made for an entertaining time for all who were early enough to see her. Which was quite a large crowd despite the early doors. 8/10
The two support acts were nothing like each other except in the sense that they were both highly talented. They did a good job of getting the crowd going though and it was not long to wait for the main attraction, and out they came.
Stand Atlantic started their set with Jurassic Park much to the joy of the crowd who welcomed them singing in raised voices. They followed up with Eviligo without giving the crowd much time to take a breath. Next up was Skinny Dipping and a crowd favourite.
At this point in the set, it was obvious that the band were just happy to be playing to such an enthusiastic room, their performance as strong as ever. After a few more songs and a cameo from a Greggs sign Bonnie Fraser announced they were moving, then she and David Potter made their way to a staircase on the left side of the venue.
Whilst up there Fraser took the opportunity to do a “shoey” or rather gave in to the crowd’s demands to do one. Commenting that the worse part of it was not the drinking from her own shoe but the fact that it was a black cherry white claw.
It’s at this point that the energy went down a notch and gave the fans a chance to compose themselves. The performance however hit a high-point as they gave a suburb rendition of a new song called Dumb, followed by Toothpick. Once back on stage the band played Drink to Drown before telling the very hyped-up fans that they now intended to play their least streamed song Silk and Satin.
The energy in the room went immediately back up to 11 when the intro to Lavendar Bones started fans were going crazy down the front, and nearly everyone in the room was dancing. Things stayed that way for the remainder of the set until the band left the stage.
Rather unsurprisingly they came back out after a couple of minutes to play the song that always sends the audience into a frenzy, Coffee at Midnight. They ended on a high with Motolov [OK]. Stand Atlantic are a joy to watch. There can be no doubt that they’re here to have fun and those bands, the ones that don’t take themselves too seriously, are the most enjoyable to see play. 10/10
Written by: Cat WIltshire
