Former lead singer of the Cocteau Twins finally brought a 14-year exile to an end as Elizabeth Fraser announced a handful of shows starting with a show at Bath Pavilion on Saturday, August 4th. This stunning sandstone building dating back to 1910 in heart of the city saw a triumphant night for Fraser in front of a sold out 1,400 capacity audience treated to a set full of Cocteau Twins masterpieces but also examples of Fraser’s new workings.
The audience streamed into the venue a good hour and a half before the show started, with many taking to their seats and waiting patiently as the ambient backing tapes played in the background, building up the tension and anticipation. The room was full of a very wide cross section of society; such is the appeal and influence of this Scottish artist upon, not only the current decade, but also the ‘90s and ‘80s. The artists, the students, the upper classes, the middle classes, the punks, the shoegazers, the fans of trip-hop and Massive Attack – they all gathered to witness something truly special.
The rammed and hot stuffy room rose as one as the lights went down and Liz Fraser and her band took to the stage. They included Tim Lewis of Thighpaulsandra, who didn’t look too dissimilar to Richard O’Brien of the Rocky Horror Picture Show with his impressive sparkly over the top padded jacket. Throughout the show he remained surrounded by his bank on keyboards and synthesisers creating a wall of sound. A well respected experimental musician who had also worked alongside Spiritualized, The Waterboys and the equally eccentric Julian Cope. Also alongside Elizabeth Fraser was Sean Cook, a former bassist with Spiritualized, a guitarist, a drummer and two female backing singers.
Throughout the evening Fraser delivered a musically faultless set, with everyone in the room transfixed on every pitch perfect note that came from the all-in-white small frame at the front of the stage, who moved her head from side to side allowing the music to was over again and again. Now and again the heavily modulated/delayed guitar sound would burst forward, crescendo and waves of effects, but often the music was fragile, delicate and this was especially vivid when Fraser took on a couple of tracks accompanied by just an acoustic guitar.
There were tracks spanning eighteen years and some nine albums. Fraser didn’t speak once during the whole show, but it was clear that this reclusive and shy individual was enjoying the opportunity to revisit some of her back catalogue, no matter how painful some of those memories might have been. All the songs are really well received, with the to-be-expected extra special cheers for some of the better-known songs. On the whole, the audience remained in their seats, taking in and admiring the range of Fraser’s unique voice. However, there were times where it was all too much and a couple of individuals were up dancing, arms waving and totally immersed in the sound.
The audiences reaction at the finale was to emphatically demand that Liz Fraser return to the stage to complete a couple of encores which ended in Fraser’s version of Jeff Buckley’s "Song To a Siren". Upon its conclusion, nobody went to leave as the cries went up for a possible third until all hope was evaporated upon the appearance of the house lights.
Liz Fraser has clearly not lost her wonderful song writing ability to capture moods, to create beautiful passages of music that move people greatly. Her voice and music has not lost any of it’s relevance and timeless appeal, the break from performing live, just seems to have further fermented is Fraser to an even higher level that artists can only dream of.
