Hold me, smell of mildew - I wanna die in this room

Another work freebie!

Ethel Cain is an artist I first met as part of The Guardian's Best of '22 list with an album that I really quite like, so I popped along to see her at All Points East (another work freebie) where she was very impressive, so I thought I'd head along to see what she was like among her own people - this was the second night of an impressive five night run at the Eventim Apollo (which is a venue I like).

But, first up, we have some intrigue! When I picked up my ticket from the box office, I was also given a pass to the Gaumont Bar - oooh, exciting? I'd driven to the station, so I didn't NEED a drink - but how am I supposed to avoid using a pass if I've been given one? The main bar in the Apollo is quite nice, so a secret bar has got to be pretty special and maybe it will be full of cool people who will obviously instantly accept me as part of their crowd - FOMO, here we come! 

But first I have to find it, because I've never noticed it on any of my previous visits - but that's because it's behind a big door at the end of the corridor, guarded by a security person who is very insistent I peel the backing off my pass and stick it to my top - a completely foolproof system obviously. And yet, almost impossible with my fingernails. but with some assistance I manage it and am allowed through the big door to experience the wonder of...

...some stairs. Ah OK. Down one flight I head to the next slightly less impressive door with a very unimpressive sign - but I'm here Ma, I've made it! The inner sanctum awaits as I open the door to experience the wonder of...

...an incredibly unimpressive room with four people in it and a tiny bar in the corner. Ah OK. And, of course, because there's only four people in it, I don't feel I can immediately turn on my heels and leave, so I order a half and look at some of the posters on the wall whilst I drink it. I somehow don't think I'll be rushing back - but I'll obviously fall for the same old trick at a different venue every time. Oh well - time to head out to catch the support act.

Who are 9million - which is a bit of a silly name, isn't it? And their first words were “what up, London?” which totally had me reaching for the off switch, but they were actually OK if you like some almost tuneful feedback. They rocked out big time (even if they were obviously squeezed in to the front six feet of the stage so they didn't have to move any of Ethel's instruments) and they had a very full sound for a support act. It did get a bit samey by the end and some of the banter was completely incomprehensible, but they did a decent job and they get bonus points for stopping their set IMMEDIATELY when someone was feeling unwell - they were not messing about.

And it was a good job they did because downstairs was absolutely PACKED and not because they wanted to catch 9million - I suspect most of those people had been there since doors open and they were not moving under any circumstances. And, for the most part, they waited very patiently...

...but when they lights went down after the interval there was an awful lot of screaming. And then the music started, which only drove things to a higher level. And then the music continued, which lead to a general puzzlement - where was Ethel? And then, after five minutes, the music stopped - yes, she started with an instrumental. Which was only the first of several odd choices...

She did fortunately decide to come on stage for the rest of the gig (there would have been a mutiny otherwise) but she spent all of it (and I'm not kidding here) stood in a patch of near-dark, mostly lit from behind and often with very bright lights blazing directly into the audience - for all I could tell, it might not have been Ethel at all.

However, if it wasn't Ethel then she did an excellent job at the singing thing - she's got a great voice with superb control. And the band were great as well - a lot of the songs are quite slow and there was some excellent guitar and drum work which blended everything well together. There were also some other instruments on stage at various times but it was far too dark for me to make out what they were, I'm afraid.

So, it was a very impressive sound, but continuing with the "slightly" contrary theme, the songs are pretty lengthy and they don't really go anywhere - and they certainly don't go there quickly. The whole thing is quite hypnotic and it's fascinating how many people were videoing the show when there was nothing actually happening on stage - it was as if they didn't want to miss a minute that might possibly shed some light on the mystery that is Ethel. And whatever she does to try to put them off, it doesn't work because they both adore and are in awe of her - "reverential hysteria" was a phrase that popped into my mind (and we had a few more instances of people being taken unwell throughout her set, so hysteria was quite apt). 

I enjoyed the evening on several levels - the music was good, but it was a bigger experience than that. I suspect Ethel knows exactly what she's doing and it was interesting to see how people reacted to it. But you're not really going to have the faintest idea about any of it from this set of photos...