British Sea Power at Academy 2, Dublin on Tuesday 7th May 2013

‘The Decline of British Sea Power’, British Sea Power’s debut album, is ten years old next month. It’s a cruel irony that it was a peak that the band would never reach again. ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’ from 2008, though not quite reaching the same levels, was a fine effort but signalled the start of the real decline of British Sea Power. This could be seen at last year’s Indiependence where their presence on the main stage attracted few more than two dozen punters.

But maybe a more intimate Academy show was the way to re-acquaint themselves with the heart of an Irish audience. Unfortunately for British Sea Power, given that they only sold 250 tickets, they had to play in the even more intimate surroundings of Academy 2. Problems abound with Academy 2 as a venue – we don’t have enough space here to document all of them – primary among which is that views are blocked for all but the tallest or closest to the stage of audience members, be it by the person in front or one of the inconveniently positioned pillars. The sound, too, is mostly aimed into the midriff of the front row of punters; not the best way for it to reach the crowd as a whole.

It’s no surprise then that as British Sea Power enter the flower adorned stage, it’s with awkward, embarrassed nods to the patrons. But there was an opportunity here for them. They could have the audience leave with one of those moments; make British Sea Power in Academy 2 one of those ‘I was there’ moments.

That never happens unfortunately. They never turn it into an intimate party among friends, instead trying to play out their ‘big’ show on a small stage. It doesn’t work. Lead singer Scott Wilkinson spends most of the show looking down at the stage in front of him or at his guitar, perhaps too intimidated to look out into the sea of faces in front of him. There is never really any interaction with the crowd in truth, though you can understand those regular empty platitudes of “It’s great to be back in Dublin” being disposed of when your venue gets downgraded.

They have some fine songs – Remember Me and Apologies to the Insect Life get the show off to a good start – but too many of the pieces in their set sound samey. A sprinkling of hits (Waving Flags, Machineries of Joy) throughout the show keeps the fans interested but there’s little here to win over the uninitiated. The one exception would be When A Warm Wind Blows Through the Grass. This proves a highlight of the set, and a song suitably fitted to the basement in which they’re playing. The slow, brooding number drips with atmospheric tension which grows and grows as the song goes on. Never a song to trouble the radio waves, it is nevertheless perfect for the night.

With songs like this in the locker, it’s a shame that British Sea Power return so often to the well of big rock songs that just don’t fit the venue. Even Waving Flags, with its “Easy, easy” refrain, and Carrion, which closes the show, fail to really make their mark…despite the appearance of an eight foot polar bear among the crowd.

Music is a game where you must adapt to survive. British Sea Power have so far failed to do so, adopting more a ‘one size fits all’ approach. The need to change things soon because the decline of British Sea Power is more real now that it was a decade ago.

British Sea Power Photo Gallery

Photos: Kieran Frost