Smoke Fairies @ World Café Live.

Text and images by Grace Dickinson.

“Can you believe we got all this stuff on a plane,” said Smoke Fairies’ singer Jessica Davies, referencing the keyboard, violin, duo of tambourines, trio of electric guitars, bass, and multitude of amps that surrounded her up on stage. “I’ve only got one set of clothes. It’s amazing you can wash your underwear with hand wash – just a tip for the travelers.”

Hailing all the way from England, Davies was also surrounded by four other musicians last Wednesday night at World Café Live. And if her limited-clothing remark were true, they’d all be walking around the next day exploring Philadelphia dressed like sets of twins (with the exclusion of the drummer).

Like Davies, there was another blonde, a guy with equally long hair dressed in a casual black jeans and a long-sleeved T to match the outfit of the other long-haired guy up on stage. Both had mustaches curling down to meet the tip of their chins, though the latter’s was a brunette of similar shade to the hair of the only other girl up on stage, Katherine Blamire. She is the other half of the female duo who are the primary figures in Smoke Fairies. She wore an all white, ‘70s-styled dress just like Davies.

On tour four their fourth album, Davies and Blamire’s deep, moody vocals dominated the sound of the live performance, harmonizing together while often both strummed guitars. On occasion, you’d find one of the guys in the back naturally matching the contralto tones of Davies and slightly higher notes of Blamire with the top chords of a violin. Other times, Davies would pair her voice with the ringing jangle of a star-shaped tambourine flapping in the air.

Playing through many of their newer songs, the Smoke Fairies delivered a solid one-hour set, hitting audience favorites like “Eclipse Them All” and “Hope is Religion.” After spending some time in the States, the band heads to Germany this week.