Killing Me Softly

Before playing the final song of their set, Elbow singer Guy Garvey instructed the crowd that in order to get the band to return to the stage for an encore, they would have to sing. Garvey gave his audience the option to pick the song.

It can be hard enough to get a New York crowd to cheer loud enough for an encore, so asking them to sing in unison seemed like a stretch. On the final song of the set, the beautifully uplifting "One Day Like This," Garvey had the sold out Webster Hall crowd singing along with the chorus. He had us, and sure enough, when the band left the stage, fans began singing Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly." It was a powerful moment that seems like a rarity with NYC crowds.

This crowd deserved their encore, and Elbow made sure to save their best song of the night to close it out. As much as I was disappointed that they didn't play much of anything off of 2003's brilliant "Cast of Thousands," the triumphant "Grace Under Pressure" felt like a truly satisfying religious experience.

Most of the set consisted of songs from the band's new record "The Seldom Seen Kid," which as good as it is still sees the band falling  a bit short of their extremely high potential. One day they could be another Radiohead. Until then, they're still pretty great. Photo by [Jonny-Leather]