The last Wild Beasts in Hammersmith

I've blogged before about the band Wild Beasts but this is for the last time as yesterday evening they had their final gig in the Hammersmith Apollo before splitting.

This quartet have a unique sound which I described earlier as "as if they are the chamber music of rock, a falsetto voice over metallic chords". A common theme of their songs was, well, work it out for yourself from these lyrics:

All the King's Men:

Girls from Roedean, Girls from Shipley

Girls from Hounslow, Girls from Whitby

Bed of Nails:

Be blatant as a bailiff

I want my lips to blister when we kiss

We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues:

Trousers and blouses make excellent sheets

Down dimly lit streets

You don't have to be Sigmund Freud to work this one out.

It was a wonderful yet sad evening. Wonderful as the set list was packed with favourites but there was always the knowledge that it was the last time ever we'd hear these chords, these tunes, these songs.

It was a special gig, with confetti (above) and multiple encores plus a choir at the end. Some lead vocalists might have done a spot of crowd surfing but these guys are from the Lake District which is known for its walking rather than surfing, hence we got this:

There could only be one final, final song, the aptly named The End Comes Too Soon, which wrapped up the magnificent story of Wild Beasts:

To sing us out the choir gave us the poignant Cheerio Chaps, Cheerio Goodbye, and then it was over and we streamed out into Hammersmith and the night.

It was reminder that all good things come to an end at some point. So if you have a band you want to see and they are playing near you, grab the chance.

The end comes too soon.

Update: reviews in Guardian here, Quietus here, Telegraph here, Times here, DIY here, NME here, Standard here and finally the Independent here with this apt quote:

"It proved to be the wrong time for this extraordinary – almost definitely the most interesting British indie/art-rock outfit of the past decade – but their music will endure and this was a fitting last act"