First Aid Kit at The Roundhouse

This month we finally got to see First Aid Kit live. As one of our favourite bands who inspire us, we were very excited to see them perform their sold-out show at The Roundhouse, London.

Despite the ‘Beast from the East’, The Roundhouse was packed, and it certainly wasn’t going to stop us making our way there anyway! We got there earlier than expected and scored a good spot in the crowd, that even Naz could see the stage without having to stand on her tip-toes.

The Swedish duo, made up of sisters, Klara and Johanna Soderberg, came across as very humble and "normal" despite their growing success. You'd have thought performing at The Roundhouse would be no big deal after performing Glastonbury in 2017, but they came across as very grateful for the opportunity.

Johanna Soderberg (left) and Klara Soderberg (right)

In fact, First Aid Kit recalled on stage how they were in awe when they saw the Fleet Foxes perform at The Roundhouse back in 2009, and found it surreal that they were now the ones on stage.

As for their performance, it was flawless and stayed totally true to the record. They were joined by their band (keyboard/ trombone - Steve Moore, drums - Scott Simpson and pedal steel guitar/ electric guitar - Melvin Duffy) who were really on-point. We were amazed that it only took five musicians to produce such a thick sound.

They gave an energetic performance, head banging away to the choruses with Johanna on bass and Klara on guitar. Their harmonies were perfect. If I shut my eyes, it was like listening to the record but with added energy.

The visuals were also really interesting to watch, with a different animation created for each song. But our favourite was the video montage of the duo while they performed Emmylou. With just Klara and the audience singing at the end of the song, it was a magical combination.

As with most big shows, an encore was on the cards, and First Aid Kit did not disappoint. Despite the ache in our feet, we were happy they came back on stage to perform 3 more songs.

Klara and Johanna took the stage and sung ‘Hem of her Dress’. As the song progressed the other band members joined and they all surrounded one mic at the front of the stage. They created an intimidate atmosphere despite there being over 1000 people in the audience. It sounded like a shanty, they got us all stomping and singing along to the refrain - it was a highlight of the evening!

The sisters performing Hem of Her Dress

They waited until the very end to play one of our all-time favourite First Aid Kit songs, Silver Lining and thought it was a perfect ending to a wonderful performance.

Highlight songs: Emmylou, Silver Lining, Hem of my Dress, The Lion's Roar.