Roísín Murphy is currently touring with new solo material. Ruby Blue, her first solo album does or does not mean that Moloko is defunct, but for now the focus is on the new material as featured on her solo debut Sequins.
The album, written and produced together with Matthew Herbert, makes sure the focus is on cutting edge music. Their craftsmanship blends well together, Murphy bringing in the same as she does with Moloko, Herbert brings in his DJ-skills and solidifies the uniqueness of Ruby Blue.

Herbert is not part of the live band, but she does not really need him to make the material come alive; Murphy’s personality is big enough to fill the entire stage, but she just takes the space she needs. Her band, maybe a bit shaky when performing on the Sonar festival in Barcelona, has matured in the few in between weeks. The new material tinkered with until it works better.

It is obvious from moment one that she would take no prisoners; she walked onstage wearing a suit, right sleeve tucked up so she could flaunt one burgundy long glove.

Then, she opened her set with Dear Diary. On the album, this song is carried by Herbert’s superb production, just using samples. Live, the song takes another form, after a shaky Sonar performance, this performance sounds like the material has fleshed out a bit more.

The audience in Amsterdam, normally a tat complacent, opened up to Murphy from moment one; their enthousiasm seemed to surprise Murphy at first, but soon she basked in it, playing the crowd.

Of course, this is the perfect moment to tell you all I had a few perfect concert mates! I joined force with fella Orger IstenSzek and my two best friends Angelika and Joanne. The date was set when both Angelika and I gave Joanne the same birthday present a few weeks earlier; Roísín’s debut album…
All four of us were blown away by Roísín’s onstage presence. She just walked on and took control of the audience. After Dear Diary she asked for her brandy, but she had us at ‘hello’, basically.

The setlist, boldly, yet lovingly shunning any Moloko material consisted of all the album tracks, adding Love In The Making, a non-album track that features on one of three vinyl-only pre-release EP’s and Ripples, the b-side to If We’re In Love.

The entire setlist, with just two wardrobe changes and one snapped dress-strap, was as follows;

Dear Diary
Sinking Feeling
Through Time
Sow Into You
Ramalama (Bang Bang)
Love In The Making
If We’re In Love
Ripples
Night Of The Dancing Flames
Ruby Blue
Leaving The City

Off On It
The Closing Of The Doors

A few things. To me, Roísín’s album is one of two musical highlights in 2005, so I had been looking forward to the performance a lot. So my expectations had risen very high and still I was blown away by her presence and the fact she is a phenomenal singer; her voice is as on the record; something not many singers can pull off.
Her professionalism is obvious in many ways; the way she plays the audience, the way she obviously cares about her trade, even the way she dresses. You feel she is there to give you a good time and you are just pulled along.

Roísín changed twice, her opening suit I described. After Ramalama (Bang Bang) she changed into new shoes and got handed a white jacket.
Then, after Ripples, she changed into her famous Charleston strap-dress, first covered up by a huge cape. The trick was that after Night Of The Dancing Flames, she would throw off the cape, but in the process, she broke one of the straps on her dress, but just kept going while hanging onto her dress. Then, before going into Leaving The City, she just put the white jacket back on over her dress.
We were surrounded by a group of panting lesbians, who almost fainted at the sight of Roísín’s left boob. Hurray for boobies!
Then for the last two songs she changed into a very Tron-like catsuit, while mock-playing the drum. During Off On It, one of her two microphones was not working and she clearly showed her displeasure by banging the cymbals very loud and irritated. Really funny to witness.

The entire album just came alive for me, except my album fave The Night Of The Dancing Flames, which was spoiled for me by a rather messy rendition.

After the show we shook hands with the entire horn section, then danced some, until we were really tired and too drunk. To the people who know me; I smoked a few fags. So a good night!

The entire experience was exhilarating and amazing for me; be sure to catch this woman and her band if you have the chance!

Well, I haven't got much to add to Gooey's review. The show was amazing,
one of the best I've ever seen. Probably the only two shows I enjoyed as
much as this one were Beck a long time ago and a phenomenal Ben Harper
performance at Werchter 2004, which had my body producing so damn much
saliva and jizz that I needed a costume change halfway through
the set.

But I'm digressing, again, so back to Roisin. Since we were so close to
the stage we got to see her facial expressions and were able to read her
body language up close and personal. And let me tell you, this woman has
the ability to speak volumes, just moving about on stage, throwing some
glances left and right or strutting across the stage.

From the first moment she had me wrapped around her red gloved finger,
and from the reaction of the crowd, she had pretty much everyone in the
building eating out of her hand. Which was, fcuz, not just due to her
appearance, but mainly due to the fantastic rendition of the album by
her and the band.

It was, in more ways that one, an incredible night. Not in the last cuz
of the nice company I was with!

More Roison, please!

Excellent. Thank you for turning me on to her music! I hope she does the US soon!

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

I don't see how this music will catch on in the US, she doesn't rock in an american kinda way.....cool you like it though!

abierman said:

That's why I like Muse so much.

abierman said:

I do.
Madonna loves this album.
Madonna snaps up Matthew Herbert.
Madonna brings this sound to gays and 30 sumthing housewives around the globe.

Hehehe.
As the album is rather hard to classify, it will be indeed a hard sell to the US. But then again, I do not know if the people in the UK are buying it. I don't busy myself with lists.
The Dutch crowd LOVED her. Excesively so.

I saw Moloko last year and after Prince, they were the best thing I had seen/heard live all year.

I'd love to see her solo act as I have been digging on her album for the past three months. In some ways I like some of the songs more than some of Moloko's songs...but they're really quite dissimilar. Roisin's solo stuff is much more arty, which I agree will make it a tough sell for the US market. Some of the indie kids might like it though.

This site is amazing.

http://www.fabchannel.com/

They put up Roísín's concert there and it looks and sounds amazing!

Got cable internet?
Like Roisin?
Got a way to safe her concert to drive/hard disc?
LET ME KNOW!

BTW, if you want to check me out for like ONE second...then see my face looking up at her in total amazement at exactly 33:10 seconds into the shwo, at the end of Ramalama (Bang Bang)

5:27; IstenSzek dancing.

Sexy boy





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[Edited 7/7/05 16:20pm]

HamsterHuey said:

My oh my, I sway a bit don't I

I dread to imagine what it must have
looked like when I wz dancin to ward
off the angry lesbian

IstenSzek said:

Hahaha
The EVIL lesbian.
That was just after Roísín flashed us her left boob, wasn't it?

Anywyas. I am just STANDING there, gazing up like she is the new messiah or sumthing.