I first got wind of Haim following a feature in Classic Rock magazine, and when I saw that they were appearing at Rock City I ordered tickets way back in October last year. Then they appeared on Jools’ Hootenanny on New Year’s Eve. Well, I went to them last night, and they put on a great show.
Classic Rock’s review emphasised their rock dimension, whereas their appearance on Hootenanny was more of an exercise in pop – which made me wonder if I’d made the right decision.
No one can seem to make up their minds what genre Haim belong to. The Wikipedia entry describes them as “nu-folk-meets-nineties-R&B” – and if I’d have seen that on its own I wouldn’t have gone to see them for love nor money. The fact that they apparently signed to Jay-Z’s management group would have further dissuaded me.
Others suggest they are influenced by Fleetwood Mac, but whatever others say you should always go on your own judgement. So I did. And I wasn’t disappointed.
The support act was “Saint Raymond”. I can’t get my head around whether they’re actually a band, or some guy called Saint Raymond aka Callum Burrows who has a backing band. I think it’s the latter, which actually does them a disservice – to be brutally honest, Burrows came across as the weakest link. As a band they were, well… competent. Nothing to shout home about, and after a couple of songs very “samey”. They were straight out of the 1980s indie scene – and that scene could be excruciating even back then.
Haim were very late coming on stage – they must have appeared around 9.30pm. Their set lasted for little more than an hour, which is maybe not surprising when you consider that they only have one album to date, and maybe this had something to do with the delay. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not meant in a negative way, it’s just that a 45 minute album is 45 minutes of music, and you can’t stretch that much beyond.
As a result, Haim performed a couple of covers – the most notable of which was Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”, which was a full on rock jam, and which expressed the side of them I like the most. Early on, Este also climbed on to the speakers.
Even their poppier numbers were interspersed with great guitar riffs and pounding percussion, so rock was never lost entirely – though it nearly was when Danielle took to the drum kit at the start of the encore. Nearly, but not quite.
The gig was a sell-out (it sold out months ago), but the big question is what direction they will take now.
For me, the rock path is without doubt the best option – but R&B and rap will pay much more, and I can see them heading that way. Most American bands do. It’s a shame.
I got some decent photos (well, not of Alana, as she had her back to the side I was on most of the time). The crowd was a bit on the immature side, and was about 80% female. Fortunately, that meant most of it was about half my height. I almost got arc eye from all the LEDs from the selfies that were being taken, and there was one close shave when some arsehole (tall female) attempted to stand in front of me after I’d secured a clear view for the whole evening to that point – people who come in at the last minute, and then expect to get pole position really piss me off.
Rock City needs to get its act together as far as the cleaners are concerned. The floor was the stickiest I have ever been stuck to. It was dangerously sticky – if you stood still for more than a minute, any attempt to move almost meant falling over as both feet remained in place.
An indifferent curry at the Mogal-e-Azam – I’m sure that place is under new management – rounded off a decent night of music.
Next gig is Steel Panther later this month, also at Rock City.