Lucy Valentine @ Springtij Festival 3, Haarlem, Netherlands, March 15, 2024

Lucy Valentine

Lucy Valentine @ Springtij festival 3, Haarlem, Netherlands, March 15, 2024,

March 19, 2024
By Nick Roseblade
Photo from Springtij festival
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Sometimes there are concerts you really want to go to, but you just can't. Tonight was one of them. Lucy Valentine was playing in Haarlem, Holland as part of it Spring festival 3. Unfortunately I did not have the financial, intellectual, moral or ethical reserves to attend the festival. Fortunately, the concert was broadcast live. Although the rest of the line-up was very good. Pascal Plantinga, Carmen Jaci and Leonie Roessler. Not shabby at all, right?

I logged in a few minutes early in case things were ahead of schedule. It was not. This gave me a chance to see the scene. The set was sparsely dressed. Valentine sat with the guitar on her lap. The set featured floor-to-ceiling drapes. These were illuminated by a blue light. This brought back memories of David Lynch. The creepy classic Blue velvet and Twin Peaks The Red Room immediately came to mind. It created a chilling image in my mind. The evening's MC introduced Valentine in Dutch. At one point he jokingly said, “He can't understand us anyway,” and Valentine looked up from her seat and laughed.

The set began with Valentine leaning into the saddle of her electric guitar. Sometimes notes were played, sometimes not. The volume and tone buttons have been moved. The sound changed slightly, but the mood remained the same. The results were awe-inspiring. These haunting sounds were then released to create giant drones. Oppressive, claustrophobic and boring was the order of the day. Church bells were ringing in various places. I wasn't sure if this was intentional or not, it probably was, but the effect added another level of reverence to the proceedings. The music picked up the pace and the swirls of noise became more and more concentric. As the set continued, so did the bowing. About halfway down the bowing stopped. It took a while for the drones to catch up and die. Valentine then chose the guitar conventionally. This section was the most beautiful of the set. It offered a little respite. And here Valentine flexed her musical muscles. The fingerpicking had a slight folk flavor to it, but played through her electric guitar and a series of invisible pedals, the notes took on an edge that made them sound both sinister and warm. Valentine's game was fluid, technically hypnotic and above all, fun. You could tell he was enjoying this part of the set. She recently learned to play the lute and this has only improved her playing. I was so caught up in the tender beauty of the music that I almost forgot to breathe. Under this achingly beautiful music the drones continued to play until they stopped. At this point Valentine began stabbing the strings of her guitar in gentle circles. At first it was tender, almost inaudible, but as the cycles repeated and repeated and skewed, they began to grow heavier and more abrasive until there was a wall of noise and confusion. Then the music stopped. Valentine put down her guitar and it was all over. The crowd erupted into applause. I also hit at home. Much to the amazement of my neighbors, I imagine.

Throughout the set, the vision mixer cuts between three cameras. A long shot, showing the seated front row audience, one from the side that allowed us to see what Valentine was doing in more detail, and one from behind her. The camera mostly stayed in the side shot, as that's where all the heavy lifting was done, but cutting between the three gave a sense of flow that matched the music.

The downside of watching this live, as opposed to being there, is that you lose some of the dynamic nature of the set. The heat is gone from the speakers. The smell from the curtains. We don't talk to people in the show. And the sheer volume the set reached live. The pros were that after the screening I was already home so I didn't have to worry about transportation so I wouldn't be back at some silly hour. Of course I would have preferred to be there, but as the concert was taking place in another country, I was quite happy to watch it live. If the concert was a few miles down the road, I might feel differently about vaping instead of going out.

Lucy Valentine is one of the most interesting and innovative guitarists in the UK at the moment. He plays guitar like no other I've ever seen or heard. It was great to see her perform live so I could see exactly what she did to get those sounds, because I'm usually left scratching my head. Her last album, 2023's “Vaults of Heaven,” featured mellotrons and a liberal dose of drone. It was glorious. Unfortunately, it wasn't very practical for live performance, but this was the next best thing. If you're a fan of experimental music, please see Valentine if she ever plays in your town. You won't be disappointed.

At the end of the show, I sat and thought about what I had just seen. Then I closed my laptop and 30 seconds later I was in my living room and back to fighting for normal life. Although I missed out on a great live experience, I will take this commute time to get back home.