The xx @ Shepherd's Bush Empire - 3 March 2010

I must confess, I was unsure coming into tonight. I feared there wasn’t enough depth to The xx to support their live shows. I couldn’t picture how they would translate the simplicity of their album into an engaging performance. The departure of fourth member Baria Qureshi last year also made me edgy: how could this possibly work as a three-piece? But they showed me how – thoroughly.

This was a lesson on focus, on exploiting your assets, even on knowing when to say enough is enough. They’ve showed a maturity beyond their age, using the reduction in band members to refocus on what makes them great.

For The xx, it’s the vocals, and tonight they were perfect. Exposed almost to a point of absurdity, these voices needed to be pinpoint accurate. They were. Romy and Oliver were stark in their aloneness; comfortable in their togetherness. An a cappella show might almost have been warranted.

But then there was the bass. Oh the bass. I can’t remember a moment tonight when my body wasn’t ransacked by the droning, driving depth of the bass, not more so than during Fantasy, which left you almost levitating.

Shit.

It’s addictive.

I haven’t felt that since Radiohead played The Gloaming at Glastonbury in 2003. So utterly engulfed; at the mercy of a vibration.

Right from the start
From the beginning, it was clear The xx has worked on improving the experience of their live performances. They found the right formula for an opening, with a white screen draped across the stage projecting their simple but powerful X graphic as Intro kicked in. That was quickly replaced by flashing silhouettes of the three, working away at their stations until the screen dropped away to reveal them as they segued into Crystallised.

As this track climaxed, it almost sent the crowd into an early disco, but then they did what the album does so well – show restraint. They didn’t let themselves get carried away with themselves. It’s what The xx are about. It’s what makes them so lovable. They’re too clever to lose that in the moment of a live show.

They’ve also learned showmanship, moving together as a three piece to create a tighter unit, and lashing out at just the right moments, such as Oliver’s mallet-ridden finale of Basic Space.

I read something once that said watching The xx live was like watching a corpse on stage. Perhaps they saw the same comment, because surely their performances now can’t be accused of being anything but blinding.



Photography by Chris Parkinson