Jimi Tenor with his band backed by a full symphony orchestra in one of London's top concert halls? Definitely not the average Jimi Tenor show, but by far his biggest live production so far, and the first of his orchestral shows.

The show consisted of material mostly from his new album, but also some older songs arranged for the occasion, including 'Europa' and 'Atlantis', the jazz finale from his Warp debut 'Intervision', which sounded remarkably good with the full orchestra. And having 'Take Me Baby' arranged for a symphony orchestra might have sounded like a pretty far out idea a year or two ago. Now it felt only natural though - it rocked, and got the audience pretty well into a party mood.

Jimi entered the stage in darkness during 'Out Of Nowhere' dressed like some ancient oriental wizard, carrying a lantern which actually turned out to be the latest evolution of the Photophone. As the title piece of his new album built up, Jimi drew mystical sounds out of the light sensitive device, casting a spell which took the audience through an evening of pure Jimi Tenor magic.

'Night in Loimaa' provided a grand beginning for the second set as Jimi took the stage again, this time looking like a stray Ice Queen from Narnia in his breathtaking new fantasy costume. Anatole Kysk, the designer of Jimi's costumes, was also seen on stage serving the band some champagne later on.

The songs, especially 'Backbone Of Night' sounded more powerful than the recorded versions, and the orchestra - which by the way was dressed in quite an unorthodox manner for a symphony orchestra - was confident enough about it all to deliver an outstanding performance.

The intense show seemed to end far too soon. The encore introduced a cool orchestral 'Sugardaddy' as a final treat for the more than enthusiastic audience. More of this please!

More photos from the rehearsals & show
Reviews at The Observer, The Independent,
The Guardian, music365 and nme.com.