Last Friday I had the pleasure of seeing Benni Hemm Hemm live at Buffalo Bar in Cardiff. To some up the gig in one word: Melancholy (but in the best way possible). Who said melancholy is bad anyway, I like melancholy. Sometimes I'm melancholy and I even like saying the word, it sounds nice. The trio that make up the brass section looked bored to the point of tears, raising their gaze from the floor only to play a high note on the trombone or trumpet (The girl on the french horn only changed position to empty a globule of spit from the valve). The drummer however, he was great, he had the comedy drummer facial expressions down to a tee.
Front man Benedikt H. Hermannsson has a truly amazing voice and is incredible on the guitar. The number of members at his shows range from 3 to 40 so this particular event was towards the bottom of that spectrum. Between songs he showed himself to be quite the comedian, in his own melancholy way. The band finished the gig with a great freak out and quick exit. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was enthralled by the level of respect the population of Buffalo offered. Here is a beautiful video from their latest album Retaliate.
