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Though I’ve been a fan of the great UK quartet Veronica Falls since their first, self-titled Lp was released back in 2011, I’d yet to see them live. Let me explain. As this was only their second ever appearance here in Philadelphia (the first was with the equally great Dum Dum Girls last year, but we had tickets to a different show on the same night!), I was determined not to miss it. And so I went, thrilled to see them as not only was it my first time seeing them, but equally because they’re supporting a superb second Lp (Waiting for Something to Happen).
Sure enough, the set was an excellent mix of both Lps, not favoring one or the other, and the band was in sync. My friend pointed out that the pedal settings for each guitarist (lead vocalist Roxanne Clifford and co-vocalist James Hoare) were identical, which in part may help explain how synced in they were with each other. In any case, what we got was superb songwriting, beautiful male/female harmonies and an intensity that both echoed and transcended not just the C86 scene they often get compared to, but much modern indie-pop as well. There was only one encore and that was an excellent, dare I even say jammy version of the first Lp’s closer “Come On Over”.
Opener Cold Showers are a newer band from LA who wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a bill with early New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen or The Sound in the early ’80s or perhaps with Interpol in the early to mid ’00s. I liked them a lot, too.
