Live Review: Love Fame Tragedy – 15th May 2024 – Lafayette, London, UK
2 min read
Matthew ‘Murph’ Murphy lit up the stage this past Wednesday at London’s Lafayette as his side project alter-ego Love Fame Tragedy. It follows his recent sophomore release Life Is A Killer, a brilliantly bittersweet slice of indie pop and rock, and his first solo show in the city in almost three years.
Both Incisors and Dellaxoz proved to be apt supports, each leaning on a differing side of indie-cum-pop-punk. Murphy bounded onto centre stage beginning the set with album two opener Don’t You Want To Sleep With Someone Normal? Every word was repeated by the tightly packed crowd, and it was easy to see that his solo material has found a caring and passionate audience. “I lived here for nine years,” he told the crowd of London, “and they were some very naughty year indeed.”
The simple yet stunning backdrop of shimmering purple matched the lights perfectly, giving the evening a touch of glamour. Riding a Wave and Honeypie blew by, the latter’s heavy bass shaking the room. “I’ve wanted to play this live since 2020,” Murph said. Of course, we all know how that went! Life Is A Killer and Hardcore got the audience jumping to the beat, while Slipping Away was dedicated to the two men who helped the new record come into existence.
Murph conversed with an especially active member of the audience about the existence of Tangerine Milkshakes, something they agreed could be found online before starting the song. 5150 became clearer to the largely non-American demographic when Murph explained that it was the code police use to describe ‘someone alone and a danger to themselves’. My Cheating Heart also got a bizarre shout out. “Someone told me that there ex-mother-in-law was a big Wombats fan,” he explained. “This is dedicated to his ex-mother-in-law.” All in all, the show was a highly entertaining and well performed success.
Set List:
Don’t You Want To Sleep With Someone Normal?
Riding a Wave
Honeypie
Life Is A Killer
Hardcore
Slipping Away
Ain’t No Need To Try
Tangerine Milkshake
Please Don’t Murder Me (Part 2)
It’s OK To Be Shallow
5150
My Cheating Heart
Encore:
If You Don’t
Backflip
Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.
