Way back when I was still playing music myself, you could always tell when someone who didn’t want to offend you hadn’t enjoyed your set, because they’d say it was “really tight.” This is roughly how I feel about The Leisure Society. The whole set was meticulously thought out: all seven musicians on the crowded stage fully justified their place there, with every note adding something distinct to the overall sound. The harmonies were impeccable; there were some lovely hooks, and everyone was bang on every single beat.

But this is just the problem. All the care and meticulousness which might normally make for a brilliant set left this one feeling over-rehearsed, sterile even. I mean this both in relation to the songs themselves (though technically good), and in relation to their delivery. With this highly polished performance, I could hear the time and dedication that had gone into these songs, but not the spontaneous, exciting impulse that might have caused them to be written in the first place.

The quieter, more pared down songs are perhaps a little less open to this criticism. The emotional intimacy and extreme honesty they reached for came closer to creating some kind of connection. But, though touching, these songs still didn’t quite have the soul they desired to have.

One high point was the cover of Paul Simon’s ‘Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.’ By now this song has become pop cliché, but this cannot deny its greatness. It was only in playing someone else’s song that they became clearly excited; at this point the band really let go, and for a few minutes the performance felt vibrant and alive.

I’d like to break a little from reviewing convention here to give a ringing endorsement to the support act, Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards.  With only two guitarists on stage, their super sparse, chilled country tinged baritone laments evoked a great mood of respectful quiet in the room. It was nothing too exciting or original really, but sometimes it doesn’t have to be; sometimes that single note, or combination, or that deep voice, just hits the spot, a spot the Leisure Society couldn’t quite hit.