Ben Howard @ Vorst Nationaal: In a heartbreaking fever dream

Anyone who has bought a ticket for Ben Howard in the past knows: Ben is not a pleaser. His best-known songs date from more than ten years ago. When he came to our country in the years that followed to present his less popular long players, the atmosphere could change. ‘Play us something we know’ was often heard. But the Brit stood his ground and played his setlist. Without so-called hits. Actually, not even unjustified, because his latest LPs are also gems, as long as you take the time to discover them. Slowly but surely, the singer made more and more concessions to the early fans in his performances and dusted off his box of hits. Yet it remained time and time again to wait and see which Ben Howard would be found: Ben the stone donkey or Ben the less-stone donkey.

But not yesterday. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of ‘fan favorite’ I Forget Where We Were to celebrate, he goes around promising to play the album in its entirety. But Mr. Howard wouldn’t be himself if it was just neat from A to Z, so he carefully ignored the order during his visit to Brussels.

Before we figured out that order, it was up to Bess Atwell first. “Release Myself” was the first to resound through the speakers of Vorst Nationaal. It was immediately noticeable that the sound of the foursome, despite the small arrangements on record, could effortlessly fill a room of this size. The fact that the thirty-year-old British woman – who, by the way, looked like the lost sixth band member of The Last Dinner Party – was in good voice also quickly became clear. Her warm and accessible voice took center stage and fit perfectly into the picture of dreamy indie pop. The fine guitar melodies, the pleasant piano playing and the subtle violin strokes still left me wanting more after half an hour. More than a pleasant warm-up.

Neatly decked out in a white shirt, Ben Howard took to the stage half an hour later. Supported by a group of musicians who could just be counted on two hands, he started “Small Things”. Initially, Ben’s voice sounded a bit harsh through the speakers, but that was quickly adjusted. There was a kind of intended sloppiness to the live translation, which created an interesting sound. And a wonderfully orchestrated nonchalance also crept into the songs that followed.

At the front of the stage was a kind of asymmetrical tree with matching visuals projected in the crown for each song. During “Rivers in Your Mouth” the TV test screen colors went hand in hand with the distortion in the guitars and the noisy sound of the song. With “In Dreams” you were sucked into a visual hallucination of someone who had been happily eating magic mushrooms and the sunflowers that were projected during the more stripped-down version of “She Treats Me Well” seemed to be plucked from that same delusion. Although the rest of the visuals were often more subtle; nostalgic black and white images of a long journey or a crackling campfire.

Ben Howard kept the promise I Forget Where We Were to play integrally. But there was still room for something else here and there. He filled a gap with the even older “Oats in The Water”. Only with his cellist they played the song acoustically. Goosebumps. “Days of Lantana”, the best song on the long player with the ugliest album cover of 2023, also received an acoustic version. Not with a cellist, but with his pianist and himself without a guitar for the first time. In addition, Ben also played some of the bonus tracks from I Forget Where We Were. Not all of them were equally effective. “How Are You Feeling” in particular was not well received by everyone due to its experimental character and shoegazy edge. High peaks were achieved by the trombone of “Conrad”. That gave me a thick layer of goosebumps. The ‘what the hell’ in “End of the Affair” went straight to the bone. As well as the guitar playing of Ben Howard himself. There is no song where the strings scream the desperation of a broken heart louder than this one.

Ben Howard’s performance last night felt like something unique. Not just because he has – finally – released all those beautiful songs I Forget Where We Were played, but also, and perhaps even more so, because we rarely saw him working on a stage with such pleasure. Closing song and title track “I Forget Where We Were” perhaps summarized the entire concert best: in the comforting arms of broken soul-gluer Ben, we, together with about eight thousand others, forgot for almost two hours what was left or right, and front or back.

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Setlist:

Small Things
Rivers In Your Mouth
In Dreams
Time is Dancing
Evergreen
The Burren
She Treats Me Well
Conrad
Oats in the Water
How Are You Feeling
End Of The Affair
All Is Now Harmed

Days of Lantana
I Forget Where We Were