I was aware of The Cinematic Orchestra for some years now. I was really excited when I saw they would be performing in Nottingham. However in their first announcement, several months ago, they advertised that the date/time would be 4pm on a Tuesday. As a full time worker I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to make it. Months passed by and out of a happy accident (a.k.a a boring life) as I was strolling through my facebook feed I saw a friend had indicated she was interested in attending the gig. To my surprise the time was set to 7pm (which made more sense). So a day before the gig I bought my ticket online and got an e-confirmation ( hence no ticket to display).

I arrived at 7:30pm. The venue was not packed yet. I found some space in the very front. Me against the iron barriers with just my head popping above it. I looked around to see what type of audience The Cinematic Orchestra have: hipster intellectuales. I couldn't take a picture but I counted endless beards and about 10 black thick frame glasses around me. As the night went by the venue was packed and the audience was quite diverse  - a gig for everyone. 
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The stage was filled with instruments and a whole lot of cables. Musicians entered the stage at about 7:45pm. No word from them was spoken - they went straight to the music. I would categorize it as electronic jazz. To be honest, I didn't like the sound - it was loud and disoriented. I didn't feel the two musical waves (electronic and jazz) pairing well together. The baritone horn sounded out of place even if it was skillfully played. 

Then the lead singer appeared on stage and sang a couple tunes. The crowd seemed to enjoy them - but I was baffled.

Were they The Cinematic Orchestra? Did I waste my money on this? I wanted to leave and it was only 20 minutes into the night! When the lead singer finally spoke and said 'this next song is from my second album' apart from realizing I didn't even know they had two albums I also realized they were the supporting act. The billing didn't mention any support and I wasn't sure ( I know all gigs have a support but give me some credit here ...they too are an Orchestra). Anyhow, I was more than OK for them to finish up their act. ( To be fair on them, on my way out at the end of the night, some people did say they enjoyed them and the crowd was welcoming).

Around 8:20pm people started entering the stage again. The started emptying the stage and preparing it for the main event. It took a good 40 minutes to prepare, I was wondering did the supporting act really need all that wire and equipment?!?
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​The Cinematic Orchestra finally made their way on the stage and they were heavenly! True artists/musicians of the greater kind. I must have some kind of bias whenever violins are involved but oh them violins, they make every sound so much better... so very melodic. They had their own lead violinist and a local Nottingham trio supporting him. I am sure they are very proud to have supported this band.

​They also had three female vocalists accompanying them. All had very beautiful voices and I am sorry to not be able to report their names. One of them particularly stood out, a beautiful black woman with a gorgeous voice. Everybody in the crowd felt the same way I did. It was evident as she got a standing ovation - I really believe if we were seated we all would have stood up! 
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I didn't recognize any of the songs, not that I knew a whole lot of them! I could hear people behind me comment with the first strum of the guitar 'do tell me it's so and so' so obviously the crowd was well informed! They did introduce two new songs 'Jaybird' and 'Reveal' which I found both beautiful. I must admit between the two Jaybird was my favorite.

As I was enjoying the concert one of the lads I was next to got very drunk and was all over the place. So much so that he we starting to become a menace. At that point I thought of leaving as the time had gone 10pm too even though we still had a good hour for the gig to end. Thankfully the gentleman on my left asked me 'Are you with him?' I replied 'No' and he offered me to switch places! What a refreshing gesture! I did thank him a couple times and thanked him again at the end of the concert. Thank you kind gentleman.

I continued to enjoy the gig. At around 10:30pm they said they would end the gig. They played their 'final' song which I didn't particularly enjoy as the clarinet just kept on going. It might have been because I was directly under the speaker but I found it too piercing. Once that song was over, all musicians lined up and bowed. They then thanked us and left the stage. Of course the lights were still dim and we all know they will show up again. It took 3 minutes for them to get on the stage again. I saw the drummer indicating to the coordinator one or two songs with the coordinator indicating two as if he is indulging the drummer. 
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One of the songs this time was 'To build a home'. Beautiful - I just love it. The guitarist before playing it said 'Today is a special day but I won't tell you why'. This was the highlight of the night for me. They delivered it beautifully. At the end of the song the vocalist, who's name I think was Heidi, pat the guitarist on the back. They did good. 

The night ended with a couple more songs. The drummer gave it his all with a long solo which was later followed by a solo of the clarinet player. 

​Once again at the end of the gig they all lined up and bowed a couple times. The crowd kept on clapping for quite some time. Most of the musicians started clapping at the crowd and became moved by the reception. A good night - I am glad I decided to attend.

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