Beau for the night

Disclaimer: Not really a critique, more like a post-show hot-take. But hey, why so serious right.

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If you're going for a Honne concert, it seems fitting to call them your beau - the band is after all the brainchild of two Brits from Bow, London. (Or, this could just be one of those lousy puns Steven and Andrew throw at each other on Worth it..)

Regardless, they were indeed charming.

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The duo opened up with /Forget me not. Though the song doesn't click with me, you have to submit to Andy's voice, especially after the rather inaudible tones of the opening-act guest band. I'm also 80% certain that he was wearing a casual tweed jacket. Man you London people.

The first climax came with /Good together. It's not on this album, and I love it. The female audience sang along with an octave higher, which made this song, and every other love song that came afterwards (aka everything but 306), a duet.

But hey, 306 is one of my absolute favorites. It's of course crowd-pleasing to discuss the perpetual theme of love, but when artists go for something broader, or something personal - that's when the character of the song really glows.

I don't even want to dive into all the puns in the verses because they are literally EVERYWHERE. Honne struck a rather clever balance between mild nostalgia and fun. You could be literally moaning over your own teenage years, before the next line came online and you just burst open.

Will take knocks will take bruises and beats

You'd take my first time on your backseat

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The second climax was led by James’s guitar solo right after the bridge in /All in the value. Again, an old song. I completely missed this part when listening to the album, probably due to the song itself. But the live was, well, a slap in the face.

When it comes to bands, the vocal is almost always the sun. Every other member of the band all have their own orbits, but they would inevitably revolve around the center of this solar system. It's a pity really, for the audience tend to forget how great these musicians really are, on their own.

Until you give them a chance to shine.

I watched James calmly picked up his guitar from the rack, walked slowly to the edge of the stage, then waited for the defining beat from the drummer. The solo flowed out right afterwards.

And it was the most pleasing sequence of movements I saw the entire evening. He wasn't even moving that much, except for a few bows and a few steps back and forth. He was mostly looking at the guitar, but when he did look up, you were just taken.

By the fluently progressing chords, by the vibe it creates, by the smile, and the confidence that tagged along with it.

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The rest of the concert was composed of a fake ending and a very generous encore.

Of course the entire venue turned into a gigantic karaoke with /Warm on a cold night. Tips here for artists on how to engage the audience: divide them by gender and have them compete. Judging by how much everybody loved it, I guess that's one of the reasons why folks endorse Soul Cycle classes.

Then there's /Crying over you, always struck a chord. /Woman came next, okay there's no way I cannot love it. It was the one single quiet song of the night, before they turned it up again with /Day 1.

Curtain call, thank you everybody.

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It's not the best album, but it was definitely a decent show. With that, let's close on a warm note.

Look we’re gonna feel broken a bit

And it’s gonna be a little bit shit

But you’ll find the strength when you’re weak

You’ll find a love when you least expect it

It could be any minute

So don’t fight the tears on your cheek