Godspeed You! Black Emperor
The Troxy, London
13/12/2010
 
Remember when post-rock was fresh and exciting, rather than being a cutting put-down? About a decade ago, yeah. A few notable exceptions aside (Mogwai, Do Make Say Think) it’s stood the test of time about as well as electronica, from the same era and just as tiresome now.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor were the flag-bearers, way back when their exclamation mark was at the end of their name, before they decided to play up to their (in truth somewhat inaccurate) wilfully obtuse image by flying in the face of the punctuation rulebook. Quite what their motives are for resurfacing now – after seven years in hibernation – we can only speculate, but it’s a welcome return, even if it does feel a little surreal. This, the third of three nights at The Troxy – as fitting a venue as they’ve ever played – has an air of trepidation as well as excitement, but the former dissipates as soon as we see that nothing’s changed at all. Same members as far as we can figure – there are shitloads, come on – and the same visuals for the most part, within a set that’s familiar from the first note. Rather than feeling faintly embarrassing, as is too often the case when revisiting the scene of emotional attachment after a period of abstinence, it all comes flooding back, and we realise why they seemed so important when they emerged. So it wasn’t just our age and vulnerability…

A scan of the room suggests The Fly is not alone in revisiting a band we’ve held in such high esteem for so long, and the response is overwhelmingly positive, as the band push the same buttons (marked ‘poignancy’ and ‘euphoria’ mostly) to evoke the rushes of emotion that first marked them out as special. Their apocalyptic prophecies may not have materialised (though we don’t recall them being date specific; maybe that’s why they’re back…) but Godspeed You! Black Emperor still seem as relevant and important as ever – and this surprise return serves to highlight how far short everyone else has fallen when trying to replicate it.
 
Andy Slocombe