Where the Bands Are (London Grammar, 1 November 2024, Brussels)

November 2024 will be an intense month of concerts and travelling. Kicking off with a trip to Brussels, where we will see London Grammar. Next weekend we’ll go to Copenhagen to see Jason Isbell, then Frank Turner is playing in my hometown Gothenburg on Monday November 11. The highlight, however, will be a week’s trip to Canada, where we will see Springsteen x2 (Edmonton and Vancouver) and, hopefully, also Zach Bryan x2 in the same cities.

Earlier I had mentioned to Oliver that I some time wanted to see the city of Brussels. I have often changed planes there, but have never left the airport building before. As schools in the area where I work and live have a week off at the end of Oktober/beginning of November it was a convenient time for a trip. Oliver found an interesting concert for us, London Grammar, so off we went.

A pissing statue and an iron crystal

After arriving early (too early) to our hotel we stowed our luggage in a locker and headed out to have a look around the city. Oliver had appointed me travel guide and our walk led to the Poelaert Place Ferris Wheel aka “the View”, which as the highest point in Brussels offers a panoramic view of the capital. We never boarded the wheel but took a moment to enjoy the view. Brussels to me, looks like a patchwork. There are so many different types of buildings and they don’t seem coherent at all.

Our walk continued downtown and, all of a sudden, we discovered a large group of people standing on a corner. As we approached the site we realised we had, out of sheer luck, stumbled upon the most famous sight in Brussels, the Manneken Pis (the little pissing man). We took the obligatory photos and as we continued along the street we found ourselves standing in a huge square, Grote Markt (the Grand-Place), another of the most popular sites in Brussels. Grote Markt, surrounded by the guild houses, the City Hall and the Maison du Roi, is considered one of the most beautiful places of the world and is also registered on the world heritage list. As we were quite thirsty and the weather was nice, we had an overpriced beer in the beaming sun in the corner of the large square.

The second day we decided to head out to Atomium, This iconic landmark is a 102-metre-high steel structure that depicts an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. It consists of nine giant spheres and several tubes. Five of the nine spheres are open to the public. We and many other tourists were curious to see the inside, so we lined up for a ticket. The spheres contain exhibitions that provides information about the creation and significance of the building. It was very crowded inside and we had to walk almost in a line. Too late we realised we should have taken the lift to be able to reach the top sphere where there apparently is a restaurant and a stunning view. Instead we climbed many stairs and rode escalators between the lower spheres. It was pretty cool but also a bit overrated. After visiting Atomium we headed to the Design Museum that was nearby.

Concert Review: London Grammar at Forest National, Brussels

Forest National is the largest concert hall in Brussels and the busiest arena in Belgium for concerts. Its circular shape is iconic and it holds up to 8,000 spectators. We took the tram about 20 minutes from the station Gare du Midi to get to the arena and then had a short walk uphill to reach the venue. As we entered the support act had just started playing. It was Lauren Mayberry , a scottish singer who recently took a break from the band Chvrches to go solo. Her solo album Vicious Creature will be out 6th December. She played seven songs and did a good job, even though most of the audience weren’t really paying attention, instead they were chatting and drinking while waiting for the main act.

London Grammar consists of Hannah Reid (vocals), Dan Rothman (guitar), and Dot Major (keys and drums). Starting with Hey Now, the band set the mood with their signature mellow sound. Singer Hannah Reid’s undoubtedly beautiful and haunting voice and Dan Rothman’s guitar work together with Dot Major’s synthesizers did their job in creating the atmosphere. However, even though some songs, like Strong and Wasting My Young Years drew familiar cheers and scattered sing-alongs, the performance lacked an engaging live experience. Rothman‘s and Major‘s minimal interactions with the audience didn’t help to break down the barrier between the band and the crowd. I had hoped for a bit more connection and presence from the band and a little less introvertedness and electrolight. The show was very focused on the visuals. The screens on the side of the stage were constatly shifting – different colours, abstract shapes, dreamlike clips, and live footage captured by drones that circled the band.

After only 14 songs (approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes) the show was abruptly over. The band took their bows and left the stage without a word. I must say that I was a bit disappointed. It is the first time I can say I prefer the album to the live show.

📸: pita_oli and myself