Something For Kate - Echolalia + The Modern Medieval Tour - Enmore Theatre 8th April 2022
REVIEW BY: MONIKA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH
PHOTOS BY: MONIKA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH
When you are a live music photographer getting to shoot a band you have been a fan of since they began is always exciting and generally can be overwhelming. You want to do the band as much justice as they have brought happiness, comfort and shower/car singing into your life.
To be saddled with the task of reviewing on top of that all can either go one of two ways, you write an epic piece noting every song and every moment that occurred in the evening or you completely get distracted and live in the moment. I pretty much did the latter as I sit here on my couch trying to recall the spectacular evening with Something For Kate at the Enmore Theatre. I feel (to my mind) that it is one of the greatest compliments to a band, as a writer, to get so lost in a show you are just present and on the same level as everyone else in the room eating up what Something For Kate was throwing into our eyes and our ears.
The show was split into two sections focusing on Echolalia from Something For Kate’s 2001 release which was a staple diet in the 18 year old Monika era. Back in those days I had a 5 cd changer stereo system and Something For Kate was always in there including Elsewhere for 8 Minutes.
As for the show at Enmore Theatre, the rain came and went as puddles filled the streets of Newtown. People lined up early for doors, which at the time I was a little confused by as it was a seated event but once I meandered into the warmth of the theatre, I soon saw the massive lineup at the merch stand. Which gave me warm fuzzies to know how people still were so passionate about snapping up goodies from bands due to the love, rarity and to have a memory to hold on to long after the stage lights had faded.
As this was a seated show there were some restrictions on shooting so planning to get there early let me assess the best spots to shoot from without interrupting the punters who packed the sold out show’s view of the band and the stage.
Personally for myself the stand outs for the Echolalia set was Three Dimensions and Monsters, probably like a lot of the people in the room who were singing at the top of their lungs, dancing in the aisles and in their seats.
Paul Dempsey addressed the crowd several times as he does (his conversational skills are why he is one of the greatest front men ever, he has this charismatic and comedic style whenever he addresses the audience). “I know it is a seated event, but you can get up and dance if you want. There are two sets, so you can get up now or get up later. Up to you!”
Dempsey also added “So we’re the support band, we’re Something For Kate, opening up for Something For Kate”
For the second set there was a quick wardrobe change and a movement into the 2020 release The Modern Medieval + more! Again, I could not have been more ecstatic to hear Captain (Million Miles an Hour) from Elsewhere for 8 Minutes. That was the song I would sing as loud as possible as a 14-year-old in my bedroom pretending I was at a concert, had I known many, many, many, many, many, many years later I would be at their show photographing and reviewing it, the angsty teen me would not have believed you one bit and probably slammed a door in your face.
Chucking in cheeky cover to their set of David Bowie’s Heroes' just added fuel and excitement to the already totally happy and satisfied crowd.
Finishing off their well-rounded sets the band stood arm in arm bowing to the crowd and getting the most deserved standing ovation of any band that had stepped foot into the Enmore Theatre.
