Cocorosie at Union Chapel 5th May 2010
What should you expect when you get to a show and people have their faces painted with glitter or half of a moustache drawn on their upper lip? I thought it was just some new hipster trend but I have now discovered that it means Cocorosie are in town. Obviously!
The venue for tonight’s show was the stunning Union Chapel and after taking one step through the door it felt like I was attending Sunday mass but with the option of beer or wine. The high, gothic ceilings, the stained glass windows and the ghosts and ghouls laughing and shrieking in the background, you could say provided a rather sinister setting for tonight’s show. Once the ghosts and the ghouls had fled the building, an angelic presence came onto the stage in the form of Sierra and Bianca Casady draped in white, linen shirts that flashed with multi-coloured lights being projected onto the stage. The American born siblings reunited their sisterly bond in Paris through their love of music, combining their childhood nicknames to form Cocorosie and tonight they were accompanied by drum doctor, Bolsa, pianist Gael Rakotondrabe and their very own human beatbox, to give us a taste of their new album Grey Oceans. Continuing on with their eclectic sound from their previous three records, Coco (Bianca) and Rosie (Sierra) did not disappoint with highlights including ‘Smokey Taboo,’ with middle eastern influenced sounds, and ‘The Moon Asked The Crow’ with whispering rhymes and deep beats. The rest of the performance was packed with gems like ‘Rainbowarriors,’ ‘Animals,’ ‘Noah’s Ark’ and ‘K-Hole’ that included everything from harp, oboe, xylophone, harpsichord and an array of children’s musical toys to achieve their diverse, individual sound. Bianca’s child-like vocals hand in hand with Sierra’s powerful, operatic voice provided an uplifting yet haunting, spine tingling sound that was enhanced by the chapel’s incredible acoustics to add even more depth and passion to their performance. With their black smeared lipstick and unusual dance moves, the Casady sisters showed us that uniqueness was both beautiful and enchanting.
