Having A Laugh & A Dance; She Keeps Bees Live in Leeds
Published
She Keeps Bees, the Brooklyn duo consisting of singer/drummer Jessica Larrabee and drummer Andy LaPlant formed in 2006 and their fourth album, Eight Houses, was released in September of this year. As part of their European tour, the band played at The Wardrobe, Leeds on 16th November.
Despite the large sign on the side of the building advertising the bar and venue, The Wardrobe is tucked away. The venue, accessed through a separate door to the bar, is hidden downstairs and, despite it’s relatively small size, it somehow manages to feel overwhelming. In front of the stage is a small standing space, which is surrounded by elevated seating, made up of a mix of old cinema chairs and tables. It creates an intense environment. It is clear from the start that She Keeps Bees is going to be an intimate gig.
Whilst taking the stage, Larrabee, immediately drew the audience in by describing her drive up to Leeds, energetically enthusing about the fields that she just wanted to halt the drive and walk around them. From this, the band begin with the album opener "Feather Lighter". A delightful song in itself, it also sets the scene for the soulful capability of She Keeps Bees. They follow up with "Breezy" and, to take the song on its face value, the band really makes it seem a breeze producing such energetic yet blues-y songs.
This is more than just music. Larrabee has a brilliant sense of humour which she shares in conversation. It is almost like being at two places at once: at one moment, I am being taken away with the music and in the next, I am in fits of laughter. This juxtaposition is somewhat like the unpredictable nature of She Keeps Bees’s repertoire. As much as you would like to think you know where a song will go next, you don’t.
Take for example, the gig’s closing song "Vulture", from 2011 album, Dig On. The opening guitar riff gets my friend and I steadily tapping our feet, only to taken back by a complete change of pace mid way through the song. But Larrabee’s consistent voice glides through the unpredictability.
When it comes to the lead single of the album, "Owls", the hairs on my neck really raise. The incredible guitar riff and the intimacy of the gig emphasize the power of Larrabee‘s voice. And from this, she goes on to make more jokes – this time about the woes of online shopping for pants (trousers), and then pants, in the English sense of the word.
The climax of the gig comes with a brilliant segue of Wassichu into Greasy Grass. At this point, the acoustics seem a little odd in such a small venue; the songs fill the space magnificently, but it would sound even more powerful in a bigger space. Though this does not ruin the atmosphere; whilst I remain seated, people take advantage of the standing floor space to dance along.
If there is anything that let the night down, it is the fact that, whilst the closeted intimacy creates the perfect opportunity to experience such talent up close, it seems a shame more people didn’t turn up. After the show, I speak to someone who has traveled down from Newcastle to watch the show, after seeing She Keeps Bees support Band of Skulls at another Leeds venue, Nation of Shopkeepers, back in 2010. He enthuses about how brilliant it is to see genuinely high quality music in small spaces.
She Keeps Bees are dynamic, musically versatile and I will be listening to Eight Houses again, in the hope that I may too them perform live again at some point in the future.
Words by Ellie Brown
