By Victoria Wai
“Thank you for being with me on this rainy adventure. I feel like this is going to be one of those unforgettable gigs,” and Arlo Parks wasn’t wrong as she headlined this stormy Regents Park Open Air Theatre night.
I’ve admired The Open Air Theatre from afar so with a double bill of Arlo Parks and Marika Hackman it was time to be there, we just hoped the weather was wrong as it had been but walking to the venue many raincoats and umbrellas were in sight coming to celebrate 20 years of Transgressive Records, who Parks notes as the label of, “such pure love of music and are such kind and real people and (the) best family for my music…,” and what a family as the night kicks off with a solo set from Marika Hackman.
The light shower with the stage lights feels so dreamy as Marika sits on a chair with her electric guitar bringing us songs from the latest album Big Sigh including the song of the same name as well as Slime and Cigarette, as and I quote she/we, “got transported to somewhere else,” before she delves into her “gay longing era” with a rapturous applause of approval leading us into Skin and a cover of Elliott Smith ‘Between The Bars’ and ending with The Yellow Mile. Literally a perfect wet weather setlist.
We were given an ‘extended break’ as we were told the apps were wrong, but with a downpour, most of us embraced the elements as Arlo Parks and the band boomed onto the stage with Bruiseless into Weightless taking us dancing in the rain, but it was Caroline that got the party started.
I’ve been at waterlogged festivals, but nothing has come close to this, as Arlo put it, “a rugged drama in the rain.” This 1304 capacity venue felt so intimate and with not much shelter. In fact maybe 30 bodies of the sold out crowd watched the blurry screen in the restaurant and through the legs of those in the doorways, but us in the rain let it soak into us as Arlo danced her way across the wet stage with the band jumping about keeping to the beat.
We were given ‘one of the most important songs (she’s ) ever written,’ as Black Dog collapsed us in heavy rain rather than sunbeams. The night nearly came to a halt as the equipment nearly couldn’t match our enthusiasm but the eagerness of Arlo wanting to see it out allowed us a full set as we ended with Softly as the night clouds eased off as the last note played.
