Peter Sagar is best known for his long stint as Mac Demarco’s lead guitarist. After his solo project began to take off, the slacker-rock singer-songwriter left the band and adopted a brand new lo-fi sound that features a whole host of warped samples and dreamy riffs. Famously quiet, Sagar has said in interviews that he only leaves the house if he feels guilty for being a hermit for too long. Lucky for us, he’s playing a one off show in London to celebrate the release of his latest album Fresh Air and we’ve got tickets to see it.

A feeling of excited and somewhat nervous anticipation pervades the air at Scala as the hundreds of fans, who queued in the rain, mill about the auditorium, eagerly waiting the enigmatic and elusive Homeshake to appear. Half an hour after the doors open Sagar does indeed appear, taking a hastily written ‘BRB’ note from atop the cassettes and vinyls of his three LP’s. The casual manner in which Sagar responds to his fans tangible excitement is prevalent throughout the evening. Whether its quietly chatting to a rain-soaked and grinning fan or sitting at the side of the stage during the openers set, Sagar is an ever present and calming figure at his one off London show. Keeping true to his overall vibe, he seems almost detached to the gravity of the situation he is at the centre of. Since leaving Mac Demarco’s band of merry-slacker-rockers in 2014 Sagar has become increasingly reclusive, his introverted personality apparently clashing with Demarco’s relentless touring and eccentric lifestyle. Sagar has never appeared overwhelmed but seems to have made a conscious decision that when producing and playing his own brand of sensual, whispered RnB, it would be on his own terms.

This decision carries on into the beginning of the gig as the first support, Atlanta rapper KEITHCHARLES, spits aggressively and jumps around the stage, his energy peaking far above the shoegaze crowd’s. His performance is not received badly, each song ends with cheers and applause and the lone rapper appears both gracious and bemused by a crowd obviously more suited to the night’s headliner than the heavy, trap inspired beats he is providing. He ends his short set cutting the track early and speaking the last line of the chorus to really broadcast his message that everyone present needs to ‘keep their head up.’ KEITHCHARLES positive message and his graciousness to both HOMESHAKE and his fans again connotes only good things about Sagar. He chose a support that he liked and believed in, regardless of the crowds expectations.

The night’s next performers couldn’t be further afield from the young rapper, Aldous RH walks onstage wearing a light pink crop top and matching culottes, his shoulder length brown hair swaying gently as he approaches the mic. His set is dreamy and soulful, his disco inspired wails sitting atop a tight groove provided by his band, a baseline that is constantly popping and moving and two synths that weave between one another sending numerous layers of sound over the monitors. As well as a fantastic sound that many Connan Mockasin fans will surely have a deep love for, Aldous RH kept the cheerful vibe in the air, bouncing well off the crowd’s surprise and enjoyment as well as finally getting them moving along to his incredibly danceable tracks. At a point in the set where Aldous and his band have obviously practiced their patter to the point of getting the audience to all crouch on the floor, the 1000 strong crowd are compliant and amicable up until he playfully digs at the Londoners for their demeanour, at this point everyone defies the singers commands and the gig continues with Aldous and his band swaying and stepping through more wavy, reverb-laden tracks.

Just before ten, HOMESHAKE and his band walk onto the stage to screams and cheers from a crowd finally reaching its limit. As he sets up his own equipment, including a multitude of guitar pedals that will be used to bend and live-edit his voice, Sagar is as sedate as ever, barely looking up at the swelling crowd barely five feet from his microphone. When he and his three bandmates are happy with the set-up they leave the stage again, only to re-emerge a few minutes later to an even bigger reaction. Rather than an attempt to build hype it seems that the band’s exit was purely to regulate the gigs schedule as they begin playing at exactly ten and never once does Sagar seem to feed off the crowds very obvious adoration.

Only in the capital for one gig on this tour, as HOMESHAKE begins the set, the response is instantly massive. He smiles pensively at his drummer in place of a formal count in and the slow, almost mournful guitar riff of instrumental opener ‘hello welcome’ sings out over the appreciative fans. Sagar is an interesting musician in the sense that his albums are very conceptual thematically and this definitely carries through to his live performances. To open with the first track of his new album, a track which literally welcomes listeners to ‘fresh air’ is an obvious choice to stay true to his material. This choice is apparent throughout the set, Sagar sticks to the original recordings of his songs with remarkable precision, notable was how well timed he hit the vocal excerpt that plays as the chorus of ‘Every Single Thing’, his girlfriend's light and playful hook hitting every beat as Sagar presses play.

His precision lends itself to Sagar being introverted even as he plays for a huge crowd; often his finger blocks one ear to better croon his wistful harmonies and his eyes stay closed for the majority of the evening, within a bubble of his own artistry. While this could be seen as distancing for the crowd, this effect is not felt, and each song comes across warm and inclusive, as if the entire audience is listening to Pete and the band play through their songs in a huge living room.

Sagar is also very gracious to his fans in that he doesn’t miss one favourite, each of his biggest hits making an appearance throughout the cohesive and winding setlist.

As the intro to ‘give it to me’ throbs through the monitors to much satisfaction, the gig plateaus at a comfortable level, the crowd’s reactions no less energetic but less frantic as the series of famously short tracks play through. Sagar knows how to work a crowd with his talent alone, the mood never dropping as he never misses a beat or a note, and barely stops to speak. The exception to this being to ask ‘is everyone ok?’ And following up towards the end of the set with ‘is everyone still ok?’ His trademark cool demeanour never faltering.

HOMESHAKE’s fans have no divide in terms of old and new material, with all of his albums being fairly recent and evenly released, all three of his LP’s are received by the majority with the same love. This is apparent in the show as all three albums weave seamlessly over the hour long set. New singles like ‘Call Me Up’ and ‘Khmlwugh’ are met with the same roar from the crowd as favourites from the first album, showing the range of Sagar’s material as well as the longevity of his initial style. His bass heavy, synth laden tracks hit hard, moving the crowd slowly side to side in a kind of trance, whereas groovier, poppier melodies like those in ‘Serious’ get everyone dancing and singing along to Sagar’s melancholic poetry.

While anticipation for this show was beyond the usual expectations of an independently signed, DIY alt rocker, HOMESHAKE does not disappoint. Sagar has shown without a doubt that his years studying by the side of Mac Demarco have paid off and his ability to fill a room with his progressive, sensual sound is as well honed as his ability to release well written, melancholic music that you can listen to again and again. If you get a chance to see HOMESHAKE at one of his rare shows, jump at it.
Sian Blewitt

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