Gig Review: Haim

Last Thursday (05/12/13) I was lucky enough to get a ticket to see Haim for free, and who am I to pass up free good music? The gig was at Birmingham Institute - I hadn't been to a gig at this venue prior and so it was nice to find a new music venue, especially one that I think I'll be visiting a lot in the future.

Only one support act for the night, and who else but Saint Raymond?! A name that I'm sure I've mentioned far too many times these past couple of months. Been raving about him for a while and it was actually my first time seeing him live. He was everything that I expected him to be and more. He absolutely slayed the set. Opened with his single from the EP Escapade "Letting Go" and from then on it was hit after hit. He went through other singles like "Bonfires", "Young Blood" and "Everything She Wants". The crowd (especially two brave young girls at the front) ate him up. Also, the guitar riffs on his songs are contagious! I came back humming one of the riffs even after Haim's set. No idea how this guy is only 18 but oh well - he is killing it! More power to him..

Haim had a slightly unexpected yet highly entertaining pre-set song list. Dominated mainly by Kanye West, Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z and had me bobbing my head and singing/rapping the entire time - there was quite a bit of crowd participation when "Señorita" played which was nice, but putting aside the pre-show entertainment... Haim. The sisters stepped on stage, the crowd grew wild as they opened up with a recent single of theirs - "Falling". Danielle must've had a sore throat or something as she only sang one song in the set whilst Este and Alana covered her on the others. However, she didn't let this stop her from being the ultimate front woman. She nailed every single guitar solo and at the risk of sounding cheesy, she rocked.

They played through quite a short setlist but they played each song with what felt like all of their might and the crowd responded identically - throwing their bodies about and chanting the words back at the band. The show was a banter-filled party from beginning to end. Some highlights were "Don't Save Me", "Oh Well (Fleetwood Mac Cover)", when Este ate a Percy Pig sweet that somebody had thrown on stage, "Forever", "My Song 5" and finally the drum solo finale.

Even though it was my third time seeing them, this felt like a whole new band entirely. Best performance I've seen of theirs to date!

Overall Rating - 8/10

Here are some pictures from the night...