friendly faces with put on smiles

  'The Twilight Sad have built up a strong & loyal group of followers
  addicted to the epically melancholic themes that run through their
  songs. With more reverb & distortion than most ‘Lo-Fi’ bands dare
  to use, listening to The Twilight Sad is like being sucked in to a hazy
  vortex that is hot & cold, happy & sad, letting you revel in the true
  bleakness of life ... They’re hardly a depressing band but, much like
  Joy Division or Disintegration-era The Cure, The Twilight Sad bring
  a wonderfully lugubrious state of despair that is relatable & inclusive

  For pure exhilaration & wonder The Twilight Sad score very highly,
  ... it isn’t every day that a band can make you revel in unrequited
  melancholy through one song before making you want to shout at
  the world in another' - (Jack Richardson) - The Monograph




  The Twilight Sad - Firebug, Leicester - 23/11/11

  so happy I could die. really.
  I've just got back from seeing the Twilight Sad play a really REALLY small
  gig in Leicester ... and boy am I happy!!!

  first of all to back up a bit, I was paranoid the gig was going to be cancelled
  why - cause (obviously) nme.com hadn't even mentioned a tour, so I was
  wondering if people knew about it and b/ the last time I went there (to see
  Temper Trap) I turned up on the night and found out it was cancelled - and
  I was sure it would happen tonight (I know ... I'm a real optimist!) because
  I was originally going to see Josh T Pearson at the Musician - when I went to
  buy a ticket online for that I saw The Twilight Sad tickets on sale!!! I thought
  TS will be cancelled and I'll go to the Musician and that will be sold out!!

  but it wasn't cancelled(!!)

  I like the venue a lot ... it's basically a pub and the room above is where the
  stage is - it's not big at all, I'd say probably 100+ capacity. I like it a lot, it's
  not all modern looking ... I think it's my favourite new venue in Leicester!!

  I was really happy when I saw how full it was before The Twilight Sad came
  onstage ... it was just nice to be at a gig where the people were there to see
  them, after being used to gigs where they were the support act, and having
  no idea if people were enjoying them

  the second song in, I BECAME A PROSTITUTE was when it started ... just
  the feeling washing over and then engulfing you, and that's the thing that I
  couldn't get over, the sound just being all around you ... and it wasn't even
  about specific songs ... it was just about this wall of sound ... that you were
  encapsulated and just totally LOST in

  they really are my favourite band at the moment, if you've ever wondered
  (!!) 'I wonder who is George's favourite current band' - now you know(!!)
  I already thought this ... but seeing them this close (I was at the front to
  the left) just hammered this fact home (and just why I had put my faith in
  them) time and time again ... basically just me constantly thinking THIS IS
  WHY ... THIS IS WHY the whole duration of the gig - no lie ... before I've
  only ever seen them as support acts (Idlewild, Leicester uni and Biffy Clyro
  at De montfort hall) but these were 1000+ venues and I was nowhere near
  as close ... and the impact was nothing to how it was impacting me tonight

  James spoke about how this was their first headline gig in Leicester and
  that they didn't know if anyone was going to come, and how great it was
  that we had payed to go see them ... you could see he was kind of tearing
  up whilst saying it - it made me want to rush onstage and give him a hug
  (in a err manly way!) ... but I just settled for thinking 'I love you man' in
  my head

  there is a guy right at the front of the stage (he is wearing the sonic youth 
  style Twilight Sad shirt) singing *ALL* the words - real impressive, more
  than that, it was just the fact of seeing how important they were to him 
  was what I really liked ... just the knowledge that others were affected the
  same by this band ...  by the way THIS was the t shirt that I was wearing

  THAT SUMMER, AT HOME I HAD BECOME THE INVISIBLE BOY really
  made a big impression on me,  just seeing the emotion on James' face as
  he performed it ... being this close meant that I could see his eyes really
  close up - just to see how it all affected him as the songs progressed and
  the more he was drawn into them

  it was during AND SHE WOULD DARKEN THE MEMORY when everything
  really came to a head for me - just stuck to the spot whilst this huge sound
 was going on all around me, and on top of all that - the emotion of it all just
  making me want to burst into tears (really) at how damn perfect it all was 
  ... I really like that the song wasn't even my favourite (I'm taking the train
  home) and it had affected me like that

  it really had been an amazing night ... seeing the band up this close and
  having it all affect me like this (when I already knew that I loved them)
  was something very special ... and also it was just really great to finally
  see a crowd of people who loved the band as much as I do

  like I said so happy I could die.

  plaid shirt count down the front (including me) = 10
  haha!! yes this is what's going through my head!! ... but no-one was 
  wearing buffalo plaid (red/black) like me!!

  set list

  1. Kill It In The Morning 
  2. I Became a Prostitute 
  3. Alphabet
  4. Mapped by What Surrounded Them 
  5. Sick 
  6. That Birthday Present 
  7. Reflection of the Television 
  8. Cold Days From the Birdhouse
  9. Don't Move
  10. That Summer, at Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy
  11. And She Would Darken the Memory 
  12. At the Burnside

  the below video is very special ... it's the same tour as when I saw them
  support Idlewild ... and more importantly this song is when I fell in love
  with them - I just remember the wall of guitars hitting me and standing
  there transfixed looking at the stage ... and it also made me think of Joy
  Division for some reason (a very good thing for me!)












  and they then went and covered THE SMITHS and JOY DIVISION
  and I just about collapsed under the utter perfect-ness of this band
  ... if you could have seen my face when I first heard these covers

  'This version of "Twenty-Four Hours" from Scottish space-rockers
  The Twilight Sad is probably the best cover of Joy Division you
  will ever hear. The sound is immensely bigger and noisier while
  vocalist James Graham remains unexpectedly tame. The band has
  always had a knack for creating tense shivering walls of sound,
  and they translate Joy Division's calmer moments with ease, only
  louder. You can find this song and much more on The Twilight Sad
  Killed My Parents and Hit the Road. It's a limited-edition collection
  of covers, live tracks, and instrumentals' - Surfing On Steam

  tweet from last night:

  I was getting the link for their blog when I saw this by accident
  ... it was really nice to see

  if you are after a new band to love ... THIS IS THE BAND FOR YOU!!
  their songs manage to be beautiful, encompassing and threatening
  all at the same time ... and they will be the perfect soundtrack for
  your winter this year ... BELIEVE ME!!

  photos to follow(!!)

  funniest part of the night ... James comes back onstage, and the crowd

  think it's an encore and cheer ... and James goes 'I'm only onstage to

  fetch my cardigan!!!' ... really really funny moment!!

  follow their blog!!!

  thetwilightsadblog.blogspot.com