On stage, Amber Run even better on “Philophobia” tour
Joe Keogh (left) of Amber Run poses with reporter Amera Lila after an interview with the band during a tour stop at Warsaw in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 2, 2019.
November 16, 2019
On Nov. 2, 2019, Amber Run hit the Warsaw stage in Brooklyn, N.Y., for their second US tour.
In light of their new album, “Philophobia”, the band — Henry Wyeth (keyboards), Joshua Keogh (lead singer), Michael Blackwell (guitar), Tom Sperring (bass), and Glyn Daniels (drums) — walked on to the album’s opening, “Leader Countdown” leaving the crowd in suspense of what was to come in the following hours. Having seen them less than a year ago, I was unsure of what changes to expect, but as soon as they kicked off the show with “Neon Circus” it was apparent that they came back just as good, if not better with “Philophobia”.
The setlist for the 2019 tour is riddled with new songs the crowd responded to exceptionally, one fan going as far as throwing a bouquet of flowers on stage to express their elation.
Once again, I have to applaud Amber Run for not only establishing and maintaining a connection with the crowd, but also with each other. Throughout the show, they were charged with immense amounts of energy, often engaging in handshakes between songs. Their evidently close relationships and their exuberance to perform had me fixated on the show, they are anything but a cog in the music industry.
Each member expressed his own individuality and put on his own show, but they came together harmoniously to sell nothing less than excellence, especially during songs that required each members’ vocals, such as “Haze” and “What Could Be as Lonely as Love” (major props to whoever was on the lower split during the coda for “What Could Be as Lonely as Love”).
Dissonant is one word Amber Run can not be described by, and most likely never will be.
–Nov. 16, 2019–
