Concert Review: Rex Orange County at All Points East

There was something wonderfully casual about Rex Orange County at All Points East. Not careless or underprepared, actually quite the opposite, with Alex O’Connor joined by a full band and a brass section - but relaxed enough that it never felt like he was trying to prove he belonged on a stage this size.

By the third song, AMAZING, he became the first artist of the day to make use of the long walkway out into the crowd. It suited the performance. Rather than putting distance between himself and an already devoted audience, O’Connor seemed happiest getting closer to them and feeding off the reaction.

At times, the response appeared to genuinely overwhelm him, pausing and looking aghast into the sheer numbers around him. There were thousands singing his words back at him, yet the relationship somehow remained personal. It felt less like the usual exchange between festival stage and field and more like a much smaller show that had accidentally attracted an enormous crowd.

The full band gave the songs plenty of weight when they needed it, particularly with the addition of brass, without losing the conversational quality at the heart of O’Connor’s music. Ravyn Lenae, who had performed earlier in the day, returned for Love Me Not, a collaboration that felt completely at home within the set.

By the time Sunflower and Best Friend arrived, there was little need to ask the audience for anything. They were already giving everything back.

That was the lasting impression of Rex Orange County at All Points East. Disarmingly casual on stage, yet somehow polished personal enough that neither seemed overwhelmed by the size of the other. Alex came on stage to bare his soul to this huge crowd, can came across nothing less than genuine.

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