Syd Arthur, Le Duc, Boot Lagoon

Saturday 3rd November, 2012
St. Augustine's Hall, Canterbury

A bit of a vibeless venue (walking through the new Christchurch University library to reach it, Miriam pointed out that it feels exactly like an airport), but wonderful sets from all three bands.

Le Duc over from France (just two guitars, drums and bass, making a huge sound, almost like a kind of French equivalent of Syd Arthur), Boot Lagoon reconvened from various parts of the country after a quick rehearsal and sounding looser and more soulful than ever, and Syd Arthur including three or four promising new pieces in their smouldering set (one being an instant classic). They ran out of time, but no one came to tell them to stop, so we got another mighty rendition of "Pulse" to get everyone grooving before dispersing into the chilly Canterbury night. They'd played a sell-out gig in London a couple of nights before — much excitement among the Twittering classes...

Syd Arthur are totally ruling the Wilmo right now...what a band! Haven't seen an artist this good here in years!

— The Wilmington Arms (@wilmingtonarms) November 1, 2012

What a fantastic night, first time seeing @sydarthurband, loved every second of it... Dancing away the whole gig :-) x

— Jake Bradford-Sharp (@JakeB_Sharp) November 2, 2012

Meanwhile, @sydarthurband rocked the Wilmington Arms. Watch out for this band.

— Tim Foxon (@timfoxon) November 2, 2012

I think I just witnessed the most awesome jazz violin solo ever!Syd Arthur are kicking it

— Oisin Conolly (@DigitalBiscuits) November 1, 2012

Nice to see things continuing to move forward for them! I couldn't find any footage from their recent mini-tour on YouTube, but here's the video they've put together for "Dorothy":