Jana Bahrich of Francis of Delirium doesn't do things by halves. If she's there in the room, she is fully there; no nonsense; all in; supportive and giving, too.
Something of that passion shone through during the support acts' performances at Oslo, when I spotted her totally immersed and listening as part of the audience.
The first of those supports was Dog Race: a five-piece London band with loads of character. There's an other-worldly, hyper-modern yet intriguingly old-fashioned vibe emitting from lead singer Katie Healy, who sings with a voice ranging from mysterious baritone up to almost falsetto. Between lines and verses, she stands, shoulders hunched, muttering and twitching before falling back into the vocals again.It's operatic, performative, noir-art rock and not quite like anything you've heard. In the space of 30 minutes I went from thinking "hmm, not sure" to absolutely adoring this band and being desperate to see them again.
Their set opened with a growling, post-punk bass line, dark and mysterious, before opening into something swirling, psychedelic and melodically discordant. Katie's first words were almost lost in reverb, then becoming more intense.
As the set went on, the band's energy increased quite dramatically, leading to pleasingly overwhelming, irresistible swathes of sound. New single 'The Leader' (out June/July) was darkly insistent and grungy; energetic, intense; beat-driven yet with brilliant uses of silence. 'The Squeeze' was similarly fabulous (watch the video here), sending Katie to her knees by the end.
"They're a bit weird, then they just keep being weird" was one comment I heard afterwards. I don't think I'd go that far, but I know where they were coming from. This is a band with a difference, and in their element as live performers where that difference really comes through.
Gia Ford presented a different kind of energy. Her music is firmly indie but also leaning towards more traditional rock-and-roll on the surface, with clear '70s and Americana influences, set off by strong and sometimes sweet vocals (think Wolf Alice / First Aid Kit crossover for starters). Her songs were well-structured, and the band were really solid in support. What struck me most about Gia and the band was a real sense of care about the performance. It was energetic, yes, but also crisp and measured.
'Alligator' and 'Housewife Dreams of America' were highlights, well structured and very well executed.
There were plenty of blazing lead guitar parts to lift the room where perhaps the energy could otherwise have dropped a little, given the more melancholic tone to some of the songs, great use of harmonies and some very sensitive drumming from a player who clearly really knew his stuff (like exactly when to use brushes, or the butt end of a drumstick for subtle variation).
Francis of Delirium's opening song was 'Alone Tonight', but it took a while to make itself known: the band began with a drawn-out and dramatic introduction, before Jana began gently coaxing out the chords on her guitar, played with a steel slide. Once it got going, though, it really got going, and there was barely a let up for the next 70 minutes.
Now, you may know I am a big fan of FoD, particularly of their album 'Lighthouse' (out since April but feeling so much like an old friend already), so I was naturally very happy to watch them live. I expected the songs to be performed well, with the live energy adding spice and variety to the (already strong) music. That definitely happened. Jana was fully immersed from that first moment, and only intensified her engagement as the set progressed.
She kept her conversation to a minimum early on ("It's a Tuesday - you know what that means" preceded an upbeat rendition of 'Blue Tuesday'), but later on became much more animated and chatty, introducing the band a couple of different times, and revealing some of their 'pet peeves'. Jana has a really relaxed stage presence and comes across as a real pro, taking her job seriously, but is never aloof or distant.
The setlist included a few trips back to FoD's earlier, grungier era, and plenty of songs from 'Lighthouse'. To be honest, note-taking was out of the question for me during this part of the gig, but some key moments really stuck in my mind from what was a warm, beautiful and brilliantly executed performance.
'Real Love' arrived to provide an early moment of immersion: an eyes-closed, forget-the-world moment. FoD then took us back to their first EP, 2020's 'All Change', for the more minimal, angular, garage-rock inflected sounds of 'Circles'.
After that foray, 'Ballet Dancers' showcased the fragile side of Jana's vocals, which contrasted really well with the explosive, grunge-soaked power chords which blast in after the verses. This led to 'The Funhouse' (the title track from their 2022 EP) which sat at the centre of the set and provided a dramatic few minutes with its dark, building and reactive theme.
'Who You Are' and 'First Touch' were two more 'Lighthouse' tracks which sounded fabulous in their live mode. The skill of the performers on stage was plain here: the overall sound was much more than you'd expect from a trio thanks to Jana's thorough guitar work, full-on bass playing from Jeff Hennico (who was clearly having the time of his life, bouncing on his toes) and superbly judged and deceptively relaxed drumming from Denis Schumacher (as well as careful use of some partial backing tracks and a vocal harmoniser a couple of times). 'Who You Are' was performed with a lovely added swing and lilt, with 'First Touch' then coming through firmly. Denis played with a huge grin here, I think partly a result of hearing the lyrics sung back to the band with gusto.
By the time we reached 'Something's Changed' it felt like most of the audience was joining in with Jana's wistful but soaring vocals. This was a great warm-up to the well-orchestrated (and rehearsed) singalong in 'Give It Back' which closed out the main part of the set with emotion and a valuable chance for everyone to feel supported and among friends.
After that, there was no doubt that FoD would be heartily chanted back on to stage for an encore. "You want one more song? How about two?" said Jana, before the band launched into a blistering doublet of songs from 'All Change': first, the panicky and introspective 'Ashamed' (which was melded perfectly into a riotous snippet of the Icona Pop/Charli XCX hit 'I Love It'), followed by FoD's own 'Quit Fucking Around'. A satisfying and cathartic closer, and a nice rounding out of the arc.
The streets of Hackney outside proved to be dark and rainy as we exited our Oslo bubble, but I'm pretty sure every one of the audience members held on to the feeling of warmth and intimacy that FoD had provided.
Date of gig: 14 May 2024
Full setlist
Alone Tonight
Blue Tuesday
Let it All Go
Real Love
Circles
Ballet Dancers (NLA)
The Funhouse
Cliffs
I Think I’m Losing
Who You Are
First Touch
Something’s Changed
Give It Back to Me
Encore:
Ashamed / I Love It
Quit Fucking Around