Kate Bush Before the Dawn show: Our insider review

AFTER 35 years away from the stage, enigmatic singer Kate Bush is in the midst of a handful of London live dates. Fans have flocked from all around the world - and we’ve got a man on the inside.

35 years since she last performed a full-length concert, Kate Bush is back on stage – and it’s been worth the wait.

Since the 56-year-old singer-songwriter first stepped back on stage a little over a month ago for the first of her Before the Dawn shows, Britain’s gone a little Kate mad. She made history when all 11 of her albums went rocketing back into the charts as casual fans caught up with what they’ve missed, and the venue for her shows, the Eventim Apollo (coincidentally, the last place she performed on her first tour in 1979) has turned into a mecca of sorts for fans from around the globe who’ve travelled to be there – myself included.

Before you even arrive outside the Apollo, it’s clear Bush-mania has hit the area. A pub across the road, The Swan, has become an afternoon hang-out for fans from around the world to congregate as they await their audience with the icon – swapping stories and making new friends. Some even head to the Swan on the days they’re not seeing a show, such is the collegiate atmosphere.

The pop singer has a cult-like fan following.

A lovely little Aussie-run bar next to the venue, the Antipode, has got in on the action too, offering a range of (super-strong) cocktails named after Bush’s best-loved songs. One Hound of Love and this writer was seeing double.

At last night’s show, we overheard the most wonderfully polite British disagreement between two gentlemen, one of whom asked if the other wouldn’t mind terribly switching seats so he could sit nearer his friends.

“I’m sorry mate, but no,” the other replied. “Any other show I’d say yes, but I’ve been waiting 35 YEARS for this.”

And boy did Kate deliver. She reveals in the program that she’s been working solidly for 18 months to put the show together, and the result is more akin to high-concept musical theatre than a straightforward pop concert. In fact, it’s essentially three shows in one, a bang-for-your-buck way of making up for three decades of stage silence.

The Hammersmith Apollo was the venue for Kate Bush's last live appearance in 1979 and her run of 22 shows.

The show is bookended by a handful of her biggest hits, delivered in a traditional rock gig style, encompassing singles from her masterpiece Hounds of Love along with some surprise album tracks.

But the real meat to Before the Dawn – and the elements that clearly sparked Bush’s creative interest, and gave her the yearning to perform again – come in the two theatre-style performances delivered either side of the interval.

The first is a dazzling, tense and at times terrifying staging of The Ninth Wave, her 1985 mini-concept album about a woman lost at sea. Impressive video projections, incredible costumes and staging all come together for a moving and deeply unsettling half hour of music and theatre as Kate drifts alone in the ocean, contemplating life and death, faith and family.

It finishes on a high with the lilting ballad The Morning Fog, with Kate and her cast of dancers, singers and puppeteers (including teenage son Bertie) dancing around in a victory lap on stage.

And to be honest, after almost 90 minutes on stage that would be enough to make Before the Dawn a triumphant return. For anyone else, it would be the performance of a lifetime. But this is Kate Bush – so we’re only half way through.

After a brief interval, Bush is back on stage for a staging of another of her career high points, 2005’s concept album A Sky of Honey (found on the second disc of Aerial). This is a more contemplative, subdued musical suite, so the staging lacks some of the big theatrical punch of The Ninth Wave, but it’s still a delight to behold as Bush tracks the earth’s journey from afternoon through night and into the dawn, using birds as her guides (as you might have guessed, the narrative is a littler looser here).

Fans arrive at the Hammersmith Apollo ahead of the second live performance by the singer Kate Bush in 35 years on August 27, 2014 in London, England.

There’s puppetry, birdsong (including some, incredibly, delivered by Kate herself), an impressive solo performance by 16-year-old Bertie, and a jaw-dropping final moment when Bush turns into a bird before the audience’s very eyes.

Returning for an encore, Bush switched back to rock concert mode for two final songs to remind the audience one more time of her talents: the first is the impossibly beautiful piano ballad Among Angels, delivered with stunning vocal clarity. Seriously, Kate sounds even better live nowadays than she has on her past few albums.

The audience joined her for a final, joyous dance and singalong to one of her most uplifting songs, 1985’s Cloudbusting. Beaming, she thanked us for our loyalty and our patience – and she seemed to be having the time of her life.

So has this all been a magical one-off, or has Kate caught the live performance bug again? When will we hear from her after she takes her final bow at the last of these shows next week? Only Kate knows for sure, but Before the Dawn is undoubtedly a career highlight – and a life highlight for the fans worldwide lucky enough to score their own golden ticket.

Originally published as Kate Bush Before the Dawn show: Our insider review