I recently attended a Ben Howard concert at the Hammersmith Apollo in London and it was so incredible that I just had to share my experience. If you don’t know who Ben Howard is, I strongly suggest you find out quickly, and hopefully this article will do his music justice.
The Hammersmith Apollo is a relatively small venue, which I think is best for concerts such as Ben Howard, as it isn’t all about big music or loud songs. I would describe his music as having aspects of folk and indie, but more acoustic than other bands. In his concert he had a band with him on stage, and I was very impressed by how they were all capable of playing different instruments, and would swap between songs.
His support band was a man called John Smith, who played a similar style of music, just without the band behind him. I had never heard of him before, but since coming home from the concert I have decided to try and find his music and listen to him more.
When Ben came on stage the crowd (a good mixture of females and males – and all different ages) erupted into cheers and applause, and there were several times when members of the audience proclaimed their love for him. The concert had sold out, which made the atmosphere even more exciting and intense. The use of lights and smoke added to this, as well as the use of videos on big screens behind him. The pictures complemented the music so well, and at some points there were live videos of the show from his perspective being played, which was something I hadn’t seen before.
He played songs from his album as well as new tracks which not many people had heard before. The album tracks prompted the audience to sing along, which is something I love about concerts – when the crowd get involved it adds to the atmosphere, making it so different from listening to the album at home.
The singing itself was amazing – I said to a friend afterwards that it was as if we were listening to his CD: every note was hit, and his voice was just perfect. When my favourite song of his was played it sent shivers down my spine.
So, as I said I hope this has shown you just how amazing Ben Howard is, and I recommend that you all go and listen to him right now! (Or at least when you get a spare five minutes...)
Have you ever heard of Ben Howard? Does it sound like something you would enjoy? What is the best concert you have ever been to?
