I’m riding the last subway train to anywhere with this childlike grin extending from ear to ear. My body aches all over, my voice has been reduced to a mere inaudible croak – and I’m wondering how on earth I’m going to describe what was possibly the best gig of my life.

I’ve waited three years for this gig and boy it was worth the wait. From the onset the warm crowd atmosphere was obvious, anticipation hung diligently in the air when the gig announcer ambled slowly on to the stage. No not Remy Zero, not yet anyway... Instead a nervous looking Ben Lovejoy took centre stage minus his band armed only with a solitary guitar! There’s something about small venues and their sound set-up – or maybe there’s something about good voices in small venues… whatever it is, ‘it’ elevated Ben’s voice to heights that none of us expected. Seemingly shocked by the sheer warmth and appreciation, Ben played a total of 5 songs, each one highlighting a different aspect of a very powerful voice. Not bad, especially for an improvised performance.

The lights dipped low and the intro music ‘The Golden Hum’ kicked in, an electric and expectant atmosphere encompassed the crowd as 5 band members gracefully took to the stage, wasting not a moment before tearing straight into the dark brooding and menacing sounds of ‘Prophecy’. Loud, powerful and sounding fantastic, the scene was set for an unforgettable encounter.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I heard the intro of ‘Bitter’ kicked in. The raw emotion expressed through Cinjuns unadulterated voice is enough to reduce anyone to tears. What resulted from the culmination of vocal supremacy, instrumental building and pure emotive sensation was a concoction that was truly breath taking.

Possibly my favourite track off of ‘The Golden Hum’, ‘Impossibility’ was introduced as Gregory’s song... and it was obvious why. Think animal from the Muppets (on speed) and you’re starting to get close to the type of intense, arm flinging, cymbal crashing, drumming mastery that followed.

Next up was crowd pleaser ‘Save Me’, which presented an intense cohesion of splattered, stuttering undulating guitar riffs spliced with a driving drum beat and mind-blowing vocal tones.

Next up was my song – ‘Chromosome’. Having kinda requested it earlier in an interview with Gregory and Cedric, I was truly ecstatic when I spotted it on the set list. All previous expectations were thoroughly surpassed as Cinjun’s vocals complimented by a range of diverse instrumental mastery, were elevated to new heights. Having already stated in the interview that ‘The venue is as big as the sound’ it was during this song that I finally understood what this meant. For all I knew and indeed cared this could have been Wembley, The House Of Blues or a private gig in some secluded spot. Architectural confounds no longer acted as boundaries to their complete and complex sound.

Encore starter ‘Life in Rain’ had to be another personal highlight for me, Cinjun’s voice was on top form complimented by the crowd singing and harmonising to make sure he didn’t forget the words, and like he said afterwards ‘sometimes that song just works’- tonight was one of those nights.

I’ll let Cinjun’s words introduce the extra special additional song played: ‘Have you ever um… been through a divorce or just well completely destroyed someone – by accident, and the person you’re destroyed – by accident, lets you know everyday that you destroyed them even by accident!’ This humorous light-hearted banter introduced the gorgeous tittering of ‘Apology’ where the swooning vocals and the light acoustic patchwork all tugged firmly at your heartstrings.

Fear not, I have avoided the temptation to depict and describe each and every stunning moment opting for a shorter briefer summary of the proceedings. That night Remy’s live performance was a natural progression of all the album tracks, a stylistic evolution where each song is developed and intensified to heighten the listeners’ experience. Even the softer, gentile more passive tracks such as ‘Hermes Bird’ or ‘I’m Not Afraid’ were turned end-upwards and blended into the loud powerful and slightly chaotic performance context.

There was something very surreal and dreamlike about this gig. The complete openness of the band to converse with fans afterwards for example, or the sheer genuineness of each song and every word spoken, left my spirits elated and my previously conceived schema for live performances completely shattered. On a night where anything, even the impossible seemed possible, Gregory’s t-shirt read ‘Goodbye Minnesota Hello Ohio’ maybe ‘Goodbye Minnesota Hello London’ would have been more fitting!