Autre Ne Veut, Birthdays, London

Ahhh, Birthdays in Dalston. A venue that delivers night after night of insanely talented new acts with such regularity that it seems to be turning their patrons into ego-centric, over-indulged music brats. Like a super generous parent lavishing cakes and pies on their already obese child, Birthdays continues to give and give, and tonight the audience shows minimal appreciation for the amazing musical gift they’re receiving.

Halfway through the set, it’s good to see Arthur Ashin, aka Mr. Autre Ne Veut, call the crowd out on it. “You guys are seriously self-serious,” he says. They laugh awkwardly, before rushing to the toilets to ensure their immaculately ironed shirts haven’t become creased.

However, it’s their loss, because Autre Ne Veut delivers a wholly brilliant show tonight. His fresh take on alternative R&B works superbly live, with all the subtleties and layers contained on the album accounted for and enhanced on stage. Backed by some woozy, atmospheric synths and an additional female vocalist, he performs some stunning vocal aerobics, jumping from impressive falsetto to aggressive growl at will. It’s energetic, passionate and daring stuff, and deserves the attention of more appreciative fans.

It’s annoyingly difficult not to let a stiff crowd affect your enjoyment of such an excellent performance though, and it feels like certain moments in the set don’t quite reach the euphoric highs they probably could with a more willing audience. You get the impression Ashin himself has been influenced by the slightly tepid response as well, and may be holding back from fully letting loose. He spends large segments of some songs with his back to the crowd, singing towards the wall.

But the times when those epic moments are reached are spectacular. Recent singles ‘Play By Play’ and ‘Counting’ bookend the set and most definitely elicit the biggest reactions from the crowd. The latter in particular sees them finally chill the fuck out and dance, while Ashin’s voice soars above the heavy beats and arpeggiated synths, swelling until the song’s climax.

And as Autre Ne Veut exit the stage, the audience begins an enthusiastic chant for more, only realising how good they’ve had it after it’s been taken away from them. Tonight however, they’re being punished for bad behaviour. No encore. And rightly so.