The Beacon Theater
NYC
Words by Cameron Cook
Photos by Abbey Braden

“I sound like shit!” complained Alison Goldfrapp after the performance of “A&E”, the lead single from her band’s new album. “The entire band has colds,” she further explained. “Sorry…” Had she not said anything, though, no one would have noticed: Alison’s band, the eponymous Goldfrapp, sounded as on form as any other time I’ve seen them (which has been a lot).

The fans were out in droves, and even though Goldfrapp’s new album, the ethereal and mystical Seventh Tree, sounds more like a pagan sacrifice to Joni Mitchell than the disco fever we’ve come to expect from them, it’s completely enchanting and meshed beautifully with the setting of the Beacon Theater. From the new, happy-go-lucky single “Happiness” (played as the last song of the encore), to the soaring crescendo of harps, recorders, guitars and pianos at the end of “Little Bird”, the set list was all about giving Seventh Tree the love it deserves. A personal highlight was “Cologne Cerrone Houdini”, a song that could easily be the theme to the next James Bond movie, if James Bond were played by Tobey Maguire and his mission was to pick as many dandelions as possible before his seasonal allergies kicked in.

While we are duly in awe of Seventh Tree’s majesty, the set lacked some old favorites fans have come to expect from Goldfrapp’s live performances: we were kind of shocked that “Lovely Head”, a song that has so much in common with the Seventh Tree sessions, failed to make an appearance (although its Felt Mountain sister track, “Utopia” was absolutely breathtaking).

Why Seventh Tree works as an entry in the Goldfrapp cannon is that, while it doesn’t cater to a raging night out at the club, it does have a common thread with all three previous albums, and we would have liked to see those themes explored a little deeper. Goldfrapp’s third album, Supernature, provided the biggest high of the evening, with the electrifying album track “Satin Chic”.
Goldfrapp is a band that will grow and age with grace, and this mini-Seventh Tree tour is the perfect example of that. They have always done exactly what they pleased, and we trust them to bring it all to a smooth conclusion in the end.