LoE and Maebe at the Trades Club, Hebden Bridge, 20/10/23

With storm Babet battering Britain I braved the roads once more in search of the long lost hippy land of Hebden Bridge, to see LOE, Last of Eden, once more. The Trades Club is a legendary venue and it is an absolute pleasure to witness another show here, even if the stairs are a killer to get up and down.

My timing is perfect this evening as Maebe hit the stage minutes after I arrive delivering a curious mix of hard rock, post-rock and math rock that permeates my ears from this Bristol-based instrumental band. With a new (second) album out Rebirth, Relive, Repeat they are featuring tracks and singles from it this evening, with You Are The Host Now providing more Zoomy context than a mad cat, and with its jazzy Houldsworth-esqueness not dropping out until the end, I am floored by this particular tune. Much impressed I bought both their CDs and will keep an eye open for their return.

More photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAZfuq

Social media:
Bandcamp – https://maebe.bandcamp.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/maebemusic/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/maebe
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/maebe.music/

This is, of course, LoE’s night. We are getting a run-through of their album, released just over three months ago, and this is just one of only a couple of performances due to life, and all it throws at us, getting in the way. And what an album The World And Everything In It is, quite possibly my album of the year. You can’t keep a good band down either, and tonight’s performance quite simply reinforces my love for them. There are carefully choreographed films playing on the screen behind them that amplifies the effect of the music – the clip from the film Network during People Like People Like Us is especially poignant in these days of news saturation and fake news. People Have The Power is the heaviest of the evening and is an absolute blast with a John Lennon animation playing behind them. The performance of the album is simply perfect and is probably the best I have seen them play over the last 18 months, utterly brilliant with the crowd totally behind them.

(The show is being filmed so expect the CD/DVD/Blu-Ray/Deluxe box set at some point in the future – my debit card is ready!).

With such a great evening behind me, the drive home flew by, accompanied by Maebe and memories of LoE’s stunning performance.