FUTURE OF THE LEFT @ Oxford Art Factory 14/1/2018
Future of the Left returned to Australia this month for their highly anticipated tour - their sixth in ten years.
If you haven’t yet heard of the band, Future of the Left is a four-piece alternative rock band from Wales, comprising of founding member, guitarist and frontman Andrew “Falco” Falkhous, drummer Jack Egglestone (both former members of the band Mclusky) and Australian bass guitarist Julia Ruzicka (formerly of Million Dead).
A lineup change in 2015 saw long-serving member Jimmy Watkins leave the band, replaced by touring musician and guitarist Ian Catskilkin for the 2018 'The Peace And Truce Of Future Of The Left' Australian tour.
The band entered after the excellent performances from support acts Suds and Batpiss. By the time Future of the Left hit the stage with their trio of classics, 'The Lord Hates a Coward', 'Arming Eritrea' and 'Small Bones, Small Bodies', the audience was more than ready for their typically blistering performance.
Several songs into the set, Falco's guitar change saw fans noticing his blood had smeared on the previous one he'd been playing. As it turns out, he'd somehow cut his hand during the show, but barely batted an eyelid and certainly didn’t miss a beat throughout the entire show. He did, however briefly, allude to leaving the stage to ‘grab a beer’... Rock star priorities.
The band also played through some of the songs from their latest album, including 'The Limits of Battleships' and 'Miner's Gruel'. These new tracks have effectively earned their place in the band's broader setlist of classics, with fans showing no signs of apathy or disappointment.
A highlight from any Future of the Left show you're lucky enough to attend is Falco’s interaction with the audience. True to his word (as per a 2017 Facebook post regarding the 2018 tour), Falco didn’t mention the Ashes (because England didn’t win), so he predicted correctly in saying “chances are you're perfectly safe”.
In between songs were moments where fan engagement took the spotlight. With fantastic comebacks to slightly inebriated audience members like “I don’t love you but I certainly love the thought of you” and “you have improved the show tonight by being here by at least 17 percent... at least 17 percent...” fans were thoroughly entertained as the possibly over-excited fans were (playfully) kept in check. Here’s looking at you, fan in the Alkaline Trio baseball cap!
Performing at the infamous Oxford Art Factory on cosmopolitan Oxford Street, the band rocked out hard in the Andy Warhol-inspired live art space (imagine an oversized pop art mural of Kate Moss adorning one wall, while Future of the Left perform). With an intimate 500-person capacity, the venue was perfect for getting up-close to the action, or taking advantage of the elevated viewing area to take in the band and the energetic atmosphere they'd created.
The show itself was gritty and stripped back to basics, though full of angry lyrics and completed with a passionate delivery. There was no need for fancy light shows and added theatricals, as the band lets the music speak for itself - directly to the adoring fans.
Like most bands, Future of the Left saved their best for the very end. The penultimate song, 'How to Spot a Record Company' showcased the band's cynical attitude towards the hollowness of the music industry, before launching into the last 'medley' of anthems.
Progressing through 'French Lessons', 'Singing of the Bonesaws', 'Lapsed Catholics' and concluding with the mighty 'LCB', the medley saw Falco and the rest of the band demonstrating why Future of the Left is one of the best kept and most powerful secrets of the music industry.
As exhausted fans staggered out at the end of the night, emerging bleary-eyed from the darkened below ground level venue, adjusting to the reality of the hustle and bustle on Oxford Street, Kings Cross on a Saturday night was more than a typical adjustment. Future of the Left defied reality for the duration of their set, providing fans an escape to a seemingly different plane of existence, forgetting about the rest of the world carrying on its business up above.
Photos by AJ Morris.
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