Acts of Faith felt like an appropriate name for Sault’s debut live show; in terms of shots in the dark, paying £99 to see an enigmatic mystery collective perform in a former branch of IKEA surely ranks up there pretty highly.
When this special, one-off gig was first announced, there was a fair amount of (understandable) grumbling; even if the price-tag served as some sort of statement after the band surprise-dropping five downloadable albums entirely for free last year, it’s still an awful lot of money.
But midway through the lengthy entrance into the show venue itself, halfway down a rusted industrial tunnel leading to a heavenly white light, the hefty mark-up started to make slightly more sense.
Possibly inspired by the venue’s former incarnation, the route inside took us through various, fairly psychedelic, rooms: a cobweb-covered factory jammed with dusty brown boxes, a mirrored hall of cactuses, a filthy, cigarette-littered kitchen in which a sad-looking woman swigged red wine and watched with disdain as I stepped inside – and then walked through – her festering fridge.
at the one time only sault concert n what the hell bro pic.twitter.com/AQCJcDTJIp
— harthur (@fakeHARTHUR) December 14, 2023
By the time we reached the giant concrete footbridge and descended into a blue-lit warehouse with custom spaces for a full-blown orchestra, a choir of at least 40 singers, and a live band set-up inside what appeared to be a Martian landing vessel... it became fully evident where they’d spent the cash.
Calling what unfolded next a plain old ‘gig’ feels disingenuous; like referring to an all you can eat buffet as a 'light snack', or calling the Sistine Chapel a decent bit of interior design.
The live music itself, delivered with the most jaw-dropping, crisp, pristine sound engineering I have ever heard in my life, was really only one small part of an ambitious production that incorporated everything from breakdancing and runway fashion shows to traditional celebration dances, sweeping orchestral arrangements and ballet.
The epic two and a half hour set was split into three chapter-like segments. The first instalment spanned new material, drawn out drum solos, and back catalogue highlights such as Air and Gods Will, while a second section presented the nine separate segments of Acts of Faith.
Phase 3 was essentially a greatest hits set, approximately the length of a regular gig, and included joyous first-ever live performances of Glory, Why Why Why Why Why, Fight For Love, Wildfire, Black Is, Free, and Angel, to name just a few. During 2019’s devotional love song Masterpiece, dancers rapidly rearranged a series of white blocks bearing different letters: the routine revealed that Sault is in fact an acronym: Start a Universal Love Trend.
Start A Universal Love Trend ❤️ @SaultGlobal #sault pic.twitter.com/nKRDGaKjod
— Caroline Dixon (@fairycaz) December 15, 2023
Though the collective’s various members playfully concealed their identities in a number of creative ways – performing as back-lit silhouettes or appearing in high-fashion balaclavas and sunnies – they could still be identified.
Along with a vocally sublime Cleo Sol – who appeared dressed as a lampshade at one point, and heads up Sault with her partner and creative collaborator, the music producer Inflo – performers included a chainmail-clad Little Simz, and the Jamaican reggae artist Chronixx. I’m sure I also recognised Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka on Colour Blind, the US singer Kid Sister, and Noughties indie star turned arty architect Jack Peñate beneath various disguises elsewhere.
While a lot of gigs can leave punters feeling like badly-herded cattle, the attention to detail around audience experience here was astounding. Forget about getting a cricked neck trying to catch a brief glimpse of the singer’s left elbow; with around 3,000 tickets sold for this 15,000 capacity room, there was plenty of space to dance wildly and move between the various stages to take in the spectacle in full.
In terms of sheer scale and breadth, this truly remarkable show felt akin to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, Beychella, or Kendrick Lamar’s masterpiece Glastonbury headline set. Best gig of the year? That somehow feels like an understatement. Don't miss out on that rumoured world tour, if it ends up transpiring. The bar has been set.
