SMOKE FAIRIES: LONDON, UK - 15.02.22
On the 15th of February, Smoke Fairies and tour support Samana blessed London’s Lafayette with an enchanting show. The room began to gradually fill with adoring fans and smoke from the fog machines, with beautiful cinematic folk music gently playing from the speakers creating a serene pre-show atmosphere.
As the arch’s soft white light and blue backlights illuminated the stage, a ghostly backing track grabbed the attention of all present. One by one, each member of Samana wandered onto the stage barefoot, creating the feeling of woodland fairies tiptoeing through a forest guided by the moonlight. They opened with the mystical and seraphic ballad ‘The Glory Of Love’, which was a spiritual experience reminiscent of the early work of London Grammar.
Lead singer Rebecca Rose’s angelic voice left the audience hypnotised by her presence as if she were a siren. The deep blue backlights and absence of spotlighting throughout the set created ethereal silhouettes which enhanced Rebecca’s delicate arm movements. The third song in their magical set was titled ‘The Beach’, which they explained was written in the French mountains in solitude with the fields and the hills. The song processes a dream-like quality that flawlessly reflects the environment it was written in. The deep and melodic backing vocals sounded like something that could be heard in a monastery. The closing song in their esoteric set was ‘Live For The Road’, which featured Rebecca moving with a tambourine gently across the stage as if she were dancing with the wind and delicately tapping the instrument against her forearm to the rhythm of the song. Their entire set was mesmerising and left the whole room in a state of astonishment.
After a short interval, Smoke Fairies made their way onto the stage, followed by a cloud of smoke behind them that filtered in from the wings. The tour had been rescheduled twice due to pandemic related restrictions, so the band appeared delighted to finally be able to celebrate their 2020 album Darkness Brings The Wonders Home. The first song in their set was ‘Super Tremolo’, a folk-rock infused tune. The unique voices of Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies blended seamlessly in angelic harmonies throughout. Whilst most tracks were upbeat and abundantly energetic, there were a handful of gentler songs such as ‘Summer Fades.’ The track started out as a slower and softer ballad with poetic lyricism, which could have been mistaken for a lullaby. The quieter, more subtle instrumentation allowed their hauntingly beautiful voices to shine. The tempo increased dramatically towards the song’s final moments, which undoubtedly caused goosebumps to form on the arms of the audience. Between songs, a joke was shared between Smoke Fairies and the crowd. They mentioned how up north audience members kept arbitrarily shouting out the names of northern towns, which naturally became a catalyst for the crowd at Lafayette to do the same for the remainder of the show.
The track played prior to the encore was an older fan favourite titled ‘The Three Of Us’, which featured a powerful baseline and drumbeat: the perfect song to walk to if you’re in the mood to feel powerful. After the encore, Smoke Fairies returned to the stage and to their roots without the accompaniment of the backing bassist and drummer. The penultimate song sounded like something from a folklore adventure movie and the darker stage matched the softer acoustic feel of the track. They left the stage to the sound of applause and cheering from the crowd to show their appreciation of what was a wonderful evening.