Stairs, More Stairs and a love letter to Valley
Words by Willow Shields, Photographs by Becca Hamel
The night I saw the Canadian, new record having, and extremely jetlagged band Valley, I probably climbed 400 stairs and, with friend of the mag Hollie Sackett in tow, explored every inch of the historic theatre-turned-cinema-turned-primatearium-turned-iconic London venue: Scala.
We arrived with about fifteen minutes to spare before Valley were on stage. Having spent some time with the band earlier in the day where I asked them about having crumbs in your bed and they asked me about the different types of ketchups, Hollie and I had found snacks and then stumbled into a lovely pub where she once met Jake Bugg. One alcoholic beverage per person consumed, we headed to the venue. Scala’s never-ending tiled staircases greeted us with a grimace, and as we ascended to the second highest level of the building, the anticipation was audibly buzzing in the crowd below. I was afforded the opportunity to sit in the photo pit sans camera this time, and despite the absolutely jam packed room and the journey through it, I was blown away. It’s rare that I am left completely speechless by a band, watching Valley give absolutely everything they have to the 1,150 odd people in a totally packed Scala felt like something particularly special, this being their debut UK show. After my stint in the photo pit, I stood side of stage for a song, underneath their sign language interpreter. It’s at this point I have to put my hands up and admit that I don't know every single Valley song, so I had little grasp of what they were capable of going in. So as I stood peering over the crowd and just experiencing what Valley means to so many people, mouth agape and body tingling. Their sound a lot heavier, grittier, moreish live than on record, hitting the chest cavity just right. I had to decide to leave the special moment and slip my way through the crowd, back towards friends in the rafters. Successfully finding my way through nine sets of doors and up and down eight sets of stairs. I found myself every two minutes turning to Hollie and, with growing ferocity and disbelief, shouting “they're SO good!” Having the privilege of witnessing Valley in their prime is like watching someone perform really good magic, and to have an intimate audience is something uniquely wondrous, when they return to the UK I’m betting on a run of massive sold out shows.
It was at this point that the press pen got a little crowded for us so we decided to make like kids on a school trip and go exploring. We found red corridors, yellow staircases, blue rooms and a bar with a gorgeous view of the stage and crowd with a direct feed from stage to speakers, and a place to charge my phone. Sitting above it all on a classic nightclub black leather sofa, there was something strange in the way it felt like watching a film, live but separate. I can only compare the feeling I experienced as tumbling completely into their world and sinking into a sparkly vat of Valley branded jelly. Watching the band perform was like watching a perfect gymnastics routine or olympic level synchronised swimming. They are so slick, they are tight as fuck, they all have wireless instruments, and swap around them with ease. Did I not mention? Everyone in the band pretty much plays everything song to song, within a three minute window (mainly) drummer Karah was out of her seat, guitar in hand serenading the crowd, then inside of the crowd winning the hearts of all. As their set came to an end, we watched them walk backstage in the dark and then reappear within, honestly, a minute. It felt like they were having too good of a time to stop playing for any longer than that. For their final hurrah, frontman Rob waded through the crowd with just a mic stand and guitar to sing the gorgeous melody ‘Bop Bah’ from their most recent record ‘Water The Flowers, Pray For a Garden’. As he stood in a sea of adoration, it was a confirmation to me of falling head over heels with this band, everyone in the room smiling ear to ear, including myself. I can't think of a show where I never thought “when is this going to end?” Either due to boredom, bladder or needing to go home, I never once thought that in the company of Valley, I never wanted to leave.
Personal highlights/ Groupie recommends; the whole recent record. Just listen to it, over and over and over. Fave tracks live were ‘Water The Flowers, Pray For a Garden’, ‘Mosquito’, ‘Bass Players Brother’ and ‘Bop Bah’.
