ESO
23 May 2012
Madame Jojo’s, London
An unfamiliar venue and a vaguely familiar band name. ESO is the new name of the band formerly known as esOterica, who Rockers Digest have been following with interest since our first encounter with them at Bloodstock Open Air 2008. The band is going through a reinvention, with a new shortened name and an album preview show tonight to showcase their new sound.
Madame Jojo’s dates back to the 1960s when “girls twirled their tassels on the tiny stage”. Through the 1980s & 90s it became famed for its drag performers and it is those together with burlesque and cabaret that it trades on now. In fact we could have stayed after the show for the theme night Trannyshack.
In an environment plusher than we are used to, fans and industry folk were gathered awaiting the arrival of the band. Fifteen minutes later than expected an ESO logo illuminated behind the drum kit and the band took to the stage.
  
Cribbing from the onstage setlist, Birds In Hurricane was the first of six new songs presented. Any concerns that ESO had taken a drastic change of style were quickly wiped away. The song seemed a logical step from The Riddle material, with perhaps a more commercial edge. The band headed straight into the next song Divide. I had joked beforehand that perhaps ESO had gone dubstep. This turned out to be very partially true for a few seconds in the mid section of this song as frontman Tobias Keast picked up a box on stage and heavy beats augmented the bands sound.
Pausing, Keast tells us it’s been a year since the band played live before introducing the next song Running Blind. Again this followed a more slick style than past material. It was however the next song that took a different turn. Brand New Suit carried a strange dark macabre vibe with a weird almost carnivalesque rhythm.
The band’s new video was due to be premiered but this never materialised, I suspect due to time constraints. The song itself, We Are Watching was played, though like everything it was difficult to thoroughly absorb on a single listen, especially in a live presentation with less than perfect sound. In fact at the songs conclusion Keast asked “Ever get the feeling there’s been a technical issue?”
You’ll Never Know wrapped up the presentation of new material. This song was the one that stood out for me on first hearing. From a subdued opening it built with melancholic guitar flourishes to a strong rousing chorus.
 
It was now heading towards the curfew with the club to follow. With the setlist showing three esOterica songs, a show of hands was called for between Silence and Don’t Rely On Anyone. Silence won, though most likely the concentration on rehearsing the new material may have been at the expenses of the old, with Keast comically missing his cue and the song having to be restarted. An attempt to also fit in Don’t Rely On Anyone was cut by the venue.
I look forward to spending some time with the new album.
ESO setlist:
Birds In Hurricane / Divide / Running Blind / Brand New Suit / We Are Watching / You’ll Never Know / Silence
LINKS:
http://www.esoterica1.com
|
