LIVE REVIEW: CIGARETTES AFTER SEX (ROUND 2!)
I definitely needed a cigarette after the Cigarettes After Sex show.
It helped that it was pouring down with rain on this melancholic Wednesday night It made me really embrace the the edgy, moody nature of it all.
You could say Cigarettes After Sex are the soundtrack to everyone’s situationships – it’s got that heartbreaking, smutty intensity to it. It also helped that the friend I was with was going through a breakup – I was ready to pour my heart out and get some snotty tears going. Everyone walking into that arena was with their situationships – awkwardly holding hands or avoiding eye contact. Classic.
Their music is so reminiscent of the melancholy ache of falling in love- but almost like a forbidden love – there’s a heartbreaking, vulnerable element to it. It really is something you listen to after having sex with someone that you know can’t be with – the pain, the passion, the steaminess associated with it. I guess that’s why it’s called cigarettes after sex- it’s like you need an instant relief to the pain felt after opening yourself up completely and vulnerably to someone like that. It’s like when he sings “Nothings Gonna Hurt You Baby” you feel almost comforted by him, like has just given you a warm embrace after just breaking up with you - there’s this gut-wrenching element to that that’s equalised by this sense of warmth and safety.
The band’s music is mellow, with a lot of reverb-heavy guitar and slow beats, and during live shows, the atmosphere often feels both personal and ethereal. Their frontman, Greg Gonzalez, is known for his calm yet captivating stage presence. The performances are usually laid-back, with the focus on creating a dreamlike ambiance, and the audience tends to get lost in the music.
So, you can imagine my disappointment when I realised that this vibe that I am describing didn’t really translate to the live performance.
The was no use of production – he didn’t really give us any energy or refer to the audience at all, expect for the occasional “ I love you all’s”. The visuals and lighting were good – and it did make sense for his aesthetic – with mostly black and white visuals and a simple set.
But overall, the concert was boring and bland in my honest opinion.
It was just kind of disjointed – I was getting ready for an emotional moment but it never quite got there. This partly might be because most of the people in the arena had their phones videoing the whole thing – and partly because he was very monotone in his performance, it took away the illusion and the intimacy of the music. I feel like the moments that feel the most special in a performance is when the performers really “see” the audience and really connect with them, but it felt like he was just singing to himself.
There are certainly no theatrics with Cigarettes After Sex – it’s just him, his guitar and the the band. He didn’t even interact with the other band members on stage – he just stood there – randomly slinging himself from one side of the stage to the other. To be honest, that’s not really my style – there is a charm in the rawness, the bareness of it- but I don’t know, I think it’s important for a show like an arena show to be a bit more engaging.
I do still love their music, though- but you know what they say – never meet your heros, or never see your hero’s perform live or whatever (because it loses the illusion you have in your head of them). You get what I am trying to say.
