Grass is Greener

On the 14th of November, Adam Green and Binki Shapiro graced the charming Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush with what one could probably describe as unique blend of lo-fi indie folk pop. Their set opened with ‘If You Want Me To’ and after a choppy start, mostly due to the sound technician’s epic struggle to sort out microphone levels, the band went on to perform a myriad of enjoyable tunes; surprising, as I was under the impression that Adam and Binki’s first album was too much of a work in progress to have built up such an appreciable repertoire.

Binki Shapiro, if you’ve never really heard of her before, used to be a member of super cool Brazilian/American band Little Joy along with Rodrigo Amarate and Fabrizio Moretti from The Strokes. Green, on the other hand, is well known for his involvement in the anti-folk music movement serving as half of a band called The Moldy Peaches. Green has also performed as a solo artist, finding a considerable amount of success in Germany as well as the US where he met Shapiro who colourfully describes the two of them as having “floated into each other’s circles”.

Regardless of knowing how they met, you could tell Binki and Adam had a natural bond; they complemented each other really well. Surprisingly, Adam Green seemed to have kept his usual abstract lyrical mutterings under the hood, the songs were comfortably accessible and, not to mention, exceptionally charming - a true testament to the combined talent of the band. In general, the performance was warmly received.

‘Just To Make Me Feel Good’ was a beautifully chiming duet and ‘Collage’, a commendable tribute to James Gang’s song from the late 60s, was a special song and one of my favourites. The band made the song a truly unique mix of their own with bursts of brass heralding an exciting instrumental with psychedelic undertones as the song came to its climax. I should say that the drummer made a massive contribution to the build-up of the song by emanating an electrifying energy of such magnitude that it was felt by the entire crowd of “warm bodies” gathered there. This warm bodied crowd was then treated to an acoustic set closer, ‘Getting Led’, a melancholy number performed with such conviction that it soared over the dimly lit hall.

I should say that the initial problems starting off never really detracted from the overall rich and heart-warming performance. The band truly found their stride with a charming and pleasant sound that never gave the impression of trying too hard.

‘Here I Am’ is available to download for free at adamandbinki.com. The planned release of the album is on January 29, 2013 and I am sure it is going to be a bloody good album.