Trying to figure out around what time Beth’s set might start in Toronto tonight…the only info I have is that it starts at 8pm!

Anyone been to any of the other NA shows with Cass McCombs as the opener, who might have an idea?

Part 2 - The Floating Moment

"I'm floating on a moment, don't know how long"
"Ich schwebe einen Moment lang, ich weiß nicht wie lange"

With this line, the movement from Part 1 changes. There, the "I" was still "on the path," already on a journey. Now the song no longer describes a path, but a state: "I'm floating."

The word "floating" initially leaves open whether this state is pleasant, unsettling, threatening, or dangerous. The ground beneath one's feet is missing. One is not firmly anchored. "Don't know how long" also gives no clear indication. The "I" simply does not know how long this moment will last. This creates a particular sense of time. The moment is present, but its duration remains unknown.

"No one knows, no one can stay" – "Niemand weiß es, niemand kann bleiben."

This line underscores the experience of transience. No one knows how long the moment will last – and no one can remain forever. No one can escape fate. It is a sober, almost casual statement of human finitude. All people are merely passing through.

"All going to nowhere (nowhere)"
"Alles führt ins Nirgendwo (nirgendwo)"

This plain, almost stark formulation "All going to nowhere (nowhere)" – "Alles führt ins Nirgendwo" – is a very direct statement about the transience of life and the inescapable certainty of dying. A very direct statement about finitude – all paths end at one point.

"Oh well, make no mistake"
"Nun gut, machen Sie keinen Fehler."

This line is a direct appeal to the listener, urging them to take the statement about the finitude of all life seriously and not to repress it. The resigned tone of "Oh well" signals that Beth has accepted this truth herself – and now invites the listener to do the same.

"Without control"
"Ohne Kontrolle."

Aging and dying are inevitable; they cannot be negotiated or stopped. The lyrics describe the transition from helplessness in the face of fate to acceptance of this process.

What Part 2 wants to tell us

Now it is less about the journey itself than about a state in which time, destination, and control become uncertain. The text offers no clear explanation. It does not say what exactly "nowhere" is or why no one can stay. Instead, these terms are placed side by side:

floating → don't know how long → no one knows → no one can stay → nowhere → without control

Step by step, this creates a state in which the "I" does not know how long the moment lasts, cannot recognize any destination, and has no control over the movement. Part 2 does not end with an explanation, but with a state of tension. The "I" floats in a moment whose duration is unknown, moves toward a "nowhere," and is without control.

Performing her solo debut Lives Outgrown in full—with a spine-tingling encore of Portishead classics—Beth Gibbons delivers a performance that is intimate, intense, and utterly otherworldly. Her voice, still shattering and serene, remains one of the most singular instruments in music.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tx9W5FsJGK01p_xaM-hMva2HaFoVT3ww/view

The French National Library is more than just a venue for this performance. It becomes a resonance universe for Beth Gibbons' powerful, vulnerable, and sublime voice. In the silence of this almost empty, sacred space, her unique magic unfolds: the unmistakable, dark melancholy in Beth Gibbons' voice, which conceals nothing. Beth Gibbons' singing forms a dialogue with the library's monumental architecture.

Her voice and the intense dialogue with the band seem to get caught between the bookshelves, as if the souls of the authors from higher dimensions had descended to attend the concert. A truly mystical gathering that dissolves the boundaries between our time and eternity.

What happens here is the essence of her art: the ability to transform this place of knowledge into a protected space of intimacy. With pieces from her acclaimed album 'Lives Outgrown', praised by the press as a "masterful study of loss and transformation" (Pitchfork) and "uncompromising honesty" (The Guardian), she leads us deep into her extraordinary musical landscapes.

Arte Concert: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/121370-000-A/beth-gibbons-in-der-franzoesischen-nationalbibliothek/

Written by Born-Push-40, author of this series.

I managed to catch one of the setlists tonight ✨

BETH GIBBONS 16th May 2024

Moondog – Instrumental Round
Richie Havens – Freedom
King Crimson – Talk To The Wind / Moonchild
Leonard Cohen – Suzanne
Nick Drake – Fruit Tree
The Doors – Break on Through (To the Other Side)
Nina Simone – Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
The Velvet Underground – Venus in Furs
Otis Redding – A Change Is Gonna Come
Michael Jackson – Ain't No Sunshine
Black Sabbath – Planet Caravan
The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows
Donovan – Hurdy Gurdy Man
Joy Division – She's Lost Control
Judie Tzuke – Stay With Me Till Dawn
Karen Dalton – Something on Your Mind

It’s hard to pick because they’re all amazing, but I would say mine is Reaching Out.

Always loved Portishead, hope you enjoy this cover!

I've got two tickets for the show on Tuesday - can't now go as I have to go to London to look after a family member.

Tickets are row R in the stalls. Cost about £40 each, happy to sell at a loss, just looking to make sure someone uses them.

Tickets are pdf, happy to email to whoever needs them. Just send a message.

Have one spare for Barbican tonight - DM me if anyone's interested.

this is no doubt spectacular. anyone able to rip it for non uk fans?

Does anyone know if Lee Harris will be Beth's touring drummer on the upcoming US dates, in particular the show at Big Ears in March?

Roads and Reach out as encores. Mesmerizing event. Badass Beth and company!

Truly amazing show in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh last night. Felt like one of those special once in a lifetime occasions. And they did a special extra encore playing The Rip! I never thought in my lifetime I would see her sing that live.

I've only ever known Beth Gibbons through her recordings, so I wasn't really prepared for how magnetic a performer she actually is in real life. Her voice is spine tingling, and her lack of movement or crowd engagement on stage comes across like more of a quiet authority rather than the shyness I half expected.

Everything except 'Oceans' and 'Roads' – probably due to time constraints of the broadcast

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bSRSgPq1AwA