Bat for Lashes debuted songs from 'The Bride' at MHOW (pics, setlist, review), playing GovBall this weekend

photos by Amanda Hatfield

The Bride wore red. Despite have the location and date of the ceremony moved at the last minute, Natasha Khan was beaming in her crimson gown, performing most of Bat for Lashes‘ new album for the first time in the U.S. This was to be one of her “church” shows, with a wedding theme fitting with the album (The Bride), but when part of St. Ann’s ceiling fell during Wednesday’s soundcheck, the show was postponed till Thursday at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Maybe not quite as ideal a setting, but lights were strung from the stage to balcony, giving things a festive feel.

Not that guests, who were asked (and complied) to keep cellphones in their pockets, were supposed to feel festive. “We’re the most depressing wedding band,” Khan joked, long after she’d ditched her bridal veil. The Bride was invisioned as the soundtrack to a film, about a woman whose fiancé has been killed in a crash on the way to the church for their wedding. Khan set the scene in between songs a bit which seem to take on a sci-fi element as the story progresses.

In addition to the three songs released from the album (“I Do,” “In God’s House” and “Sunday Love“), she and her band played six other songs from The Bride (four songs were left “for us to discover” for the album’s out July 1), including “Never Forgive the Angels” which may have been the standout of the night. She then returned for a seven-song second set of older favorites, including “Laura,” “What’s a Girl to Do?,” and a terrific cover of The Carpenters’ “We’ve Only Just Begun.” The night ended with “Daniel,” reworked with what sounded like toy music box backing. As always, the real star here is Khan’s incredible, ethereal, mesmerizing voice. It was a great, great show.

Bat for Lashes plays Governors Ball on Sunday (6/4). More pictures from Thursday’s Music Hall of Williamsburg show, below.

I Do
Joe’s Dream
In God’s House
Honeymooning Alone
Sunday Love
Never Forgive the Angels
Close Encounters
If I Knew
I Will Love Again

Encore:
Laura
We’ve Only Just Begun
(Carpenters cover)
What’s a Girl to Do?
Horse and I
Marilyn
Sleep Alone
Daniel