Situated just off Charring
Cross Road, on the border of Soho, the Borderline is
one of London’s best known venues. Opened fourteen
years ago, the place has ever since served the music
community with consistency, playing host to a variety
of artists, from new comers to legendary names ranging
from ex-Aztec Camera Roddy Frame to Debbie Harry or
Marianne Faithful. Despite this, the small stage appears
almost incidental in this themed bar, stuck between
the staircase leading down to the main room and the
long bar at the back.
Following a performance at Cargo, Chungking were taking
their sun drenched melodies and orchestrations for their
second London date in just over a week.
While the stage was being prepared following, the crowd,
at first disappointingly scarce had grown to near full
capacity when the band finally came on, over twenty
minutes later than billed. Obviously impressed by the
turn up and the warm reception, Jessie Banks took her
place behind the mic stand, with Sean Hennesey swapping
his computers for guitars and James Stephenson on bass,
and the band kicked off with Come With Me,
second track from their current We Travel Fast
album. Despite the apparent tension, Chungking already
showed good control and, as they moved on to the stunning
Making Music, they seemed to relax a bit as
Banks’ voice grew stronger and more powerful as
the chorus approached, even venturing into some extra
melodic contortions. The crowd, already won over, was
offering great support, with Jessie obviously moved
by the warm applause and cheers.
A few songs later, it was the turn of World Of
A Thousand Suns, perhaps the strongest song on
We Travel Fast with Making Music.
A her confidence built up, Banks was now firmly setting
the tone, with the rest of the band happy to follow,
exchanging looks and smile as to encourage each other.
Perfectly adapting the luscious orchestrations of the
album to the live environment, Chungking confidently
developed some ideas further, with guitar and keyboard
lines flourishing almost constantly.
As the end of the set approached, the sound seemed
to grow stronger and bolder. Closing their convincing
performance with a soulful and fiery version of Full
On, with the band mirroring Jessie Banks’
burning voice by crushing the soft touch approach that
had until then characterised their performance, bringing
the show to a very smart end.
Chungking might have not been around for very long,
but the spotless performance given that night demonstrates
how the band have already successfully transferred from
the computer-based music heard on their album to the
live environment, by getting on board some extra musician.
The band displayed a great amount of maturity and confidence.
Thank you to Fiona
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