Dustins Bar Mitzvah & The Maccabees @ Water Rats

So anyway, luce is at home again with illness, (its a good thing I've got more than one friend!) And here we are at the 6Music/Club Fandango night in the Water Rats waiting on some random band to come on stage and persuade us that they are worth the £6 entrance fee. The bands playing are chosen by Mr Steve "indie" Lamacq, so we're hoping for an unexpected treat.

We decided to stand as close to the bar as possible, just in case like, but are literally dragged away from the booze by the frenetic sound of Leicester's REDCARSGOFASTER! Every song goes through a surging crescendo of noise and the energetic, kinetic performances from all the band pulls the audience in. The young whippersnapper on vocals was flinging himself everywhere and even faced the age old problem of 'what do you do when you've climbed on top of the amp?' (and can't even stand up cause you're too close to the ceiling) - - - its beat your chest dramatically and then carefully climb down - in case you were wondering.

The MACCABEES are tonight's buzziest band (they've got a couple of good reviews in NME already - get them!) and the room is rammed with scenesters wanting to check 'em out. Although I bet Lamacq got himself a good viewpoint, the shortarse. The first few songs pass me by, even the current tune 'X-Ray', (perhaps I shouldn't have been standing at the bar). But tunes that instantly please are usually easily disposed of also. The Maccabees turn out to have more than enough going on for me to want to delve a bit deeper and the more you listen, the more you're hooked. They're gonna be next years Futureheads! Hurrah!

Finally, the last minute substitution of DUSTINS BAR MITZVAH for Larrikin Love was annoying but putupwithable, as I hadn't seen Dustins either. They are quite shite. Just another band still trading on the scuzzy East London sound and they gave the most jaded bored performance I've seen in ages. Dustins have been around for a while now, and still haven't cracked it, that tells us something. And it must have been slightly galling for them to be so outclassed by the younger, better and brighter support acts! It takes more than a good hair cut and a nifty way with an eyeliner pencil you know! Even the Dustins only single 'Jimmy White' (which I quite liked) is lost in all the samey, shouting vocals, and tired old banging away on the guitars.

At the end of the evening we got chatting to a nice young chap who was chaperoning his sister in her quest to bag the Dustins singer. I told her she could do lots better!

Luce Said

Stellastarr* @ the Metro Club

Oh how I love the eighties – batwings, fringes, stripes, polka dots, pixie boots, can’t get enough of ‘em! And I seem to have loved STELLASTARR* for just as long, (although I only bought their 'self titled' back in early 2004) and 'My Coco' is one of my all time tunes, so you can imagine how I nearly pee'd my pants when I found out they were playing the Metro.

So anyway, they wander on stage and straight into newie tune ‘Lost in Time’, and I have time to reflect that I had absolutely no preconceptions about this band ... at all. I’ve never read a review, didn’t know what they looked like and got the album after hearing ‘My Coco’ a few times on the radio. And now all I can think is “oh, I thought he’d be a bit taller.” Like a bunch of randoms covering your favourite band, although they are doing it very well. Some people might point out that Stellastarr* are, essentially, an eighties cover band. Well they can just f*ck off!

Stellastarr* have a bloody good go at transcending their influences – (the Cure mostly I think), by placing a layer of art school New York cool over the top of what could have been just another eighties pastiche, and with 'Jenny' and 'Somewhere Across Forever' they succeeded.

The beered up crowd seemed old enough to remember the eighties the first time round, and knew all the words to many of the songs. - (I thought I was the only one!) – Some of the tracks do occasionally stray into the twanging guitar territory of ‘Rattle and Hum’ era U2, but Stellastarr* make a big sound that needs more space than the Metro can provide. The new songs aren't as indie pop as their earlier stuff, but they have added layers of lushness to their dark dramatic new wavey sound. I think I liked it.
And finally, ‘My Coco’ is the nights closer, everyone joined for this one.

Fabulous support from Swedish THE SOUNDS kicked off the evenings eighties vibe with shouty girly new wave pop punk not seen since 1982. They are the sound of the Violent Femmes fronted by Blondie with maybe a bit of A-ha thrown in to make it go scando POP!

I know its not cool, but I want to stay in my eighties indie pop ghetto forever. When John Hughes gets round to making my biog I’ll already have a soundtrack sorted. Re: the live performance, I’m still a bit undecided. But then no real life band could have lived up to the Stellastarr* that has, until now, only existed in my head!

(Oh - totally unrelated - but when I got home that night the Libertines were reunited on UKTV Gold in an old Jonathon Ross chat show. Bless.)

Shitdisco & Eskimo Disco @ The Water Rats

Desirable, Irresistible, Sensational, Crazy crazy ... Oh, oh, oh, oh
… well I wasn’t expecting that!

Now, I love the Rapture, but do they ever call, write or even come over to visit? No they bloody well don’t; so I’m forced to look a bit closer to home and it is the spectacular SHITDISCO (pronounced "shitdisco") who have saved me!

Playing a support slot in a half empty Water Rats isn’t the most auspicious of starts and Luce couldn’t make it either, so I really had to pay attention to this one. And they do not disappoint, exploding all over the place with their dark strobbing epileptic rock.

But our attention is taken by the manically dancing drunken nutter from Bolton [yes, I’d been chatting to him earlier - they always find me!] who has commandeered the dancefloor. He proceeds to strip off and drop his keks, while pogoing all over the place, so we were all a bit too distracted by the sight of his fun sized willy bouncing around in front of the stage to properly watch the band!

It escalated into a weird face off during the explosive 'I Know Kung Fu' between him and the Shitdisco chap on vocals, and a fight for the microphone spilled out into the audience!! Or at least the space where the audience should have been, but all the fey indie boys were absolutely bricking it, and hugged the walls in fear of the scary northerner with his dick out! Until, finally, the timid bar staff chuck him out. Thank you.

They ended the eventful set with ‘Disco Blood’, current single and dirty dancefloor stormer. (Although there wasn’t much dancing being done by the traumatised audience!) Any band where the lead instrument is drums is going to be a bit bloody good, and why use one bass guitar when you can have two – oh yes indeedy! Fringey likes to dance and is very partial to the drumming, and the bass.
We like the - not shit at all - Shitdisco. (I'm taking liberties speaking for luce, who couldn't come, but I know she would have loved it.)


How can you follow this? Why with the exceptional vocoder camp of ESKIMO DISCO! It takes a special kind of genius to do a disco cover of 'The Final Countdown' as your penultimate song and then rap over the top in the style of Dolly Parton! The rest of their set was pure indie electro disco, with a bit of hoe-down country thrown in. Why play only one guitar when you can play two ... ... at the same time. Normal keyboards aren’t enough not when you can sling one over your shoulder as well! 'Picture Perfect’ (new single/download?) is a damn fine tune, the girls and the gays will love them!

While Eskimo Disco do look good, sound great (and gave us postcards and badges), it is the superb Shitdisco who are the main event of the night, although it was probably the worst gig of their lives. We can’t wait for the chance to properly hit the dancefloor to their throbbing tunes and see them again. (without the distractions!)

A night of dance cock, eighties rock and D*I*S*C*O!
Fabulous.

Field Music @ Water Rats

When did it get so flippin' freezing?? It was positively balmy last week! But Fringey braved the sub zero temps and left the cosy cocoon that is downstairs in Bradleys, to trek all the way up to the Water Rats in Kings Cross to see FIELD MUSIC.

We got there to find that the Water Rats theatre had turned into an absolute mecca of pretty indie boys, I can't speak for Luce, but it warmed me right up I can tell ya.
Deciding against watching support YO ZUSHI, not that he was rubbish, just maybe a bit dull, we hung out at the bar. We'd both had a hard day at work and needed something a bit more resembling entertainment. Luckily the bar telly was showing the Take That documentary. (isn't Howard old looking now?).

So, anyway, Field Music. Or rather Field Music and friends - there was a cast of thousands (well, at least six or seven) crowding the tiny Rats stage, with electric stings and keyboards for their lush harmonies and lots of extra percussion - can I hear a big “HELL YEAH!” for the use of xylophones!
They warmed us further with some lovely Belle and Sebastian style melodic twee pop - by way of Sunderland, (a north east accent can give warmth to the chilliest tune). The Brewis brothers remained happy and smiley throughout, swapping drums and lead vocals easily between them. They are charmingly twee and not at all annoying. We left feeling lots better and warmer than hot toast.

Luce Said:

Crawling round a few pubs

Our mini old st pub crawl actually started in Bradleys Spanish Bar. Every Fringey night out appears to begin in Bradleys. This is not a bad thing, but it isn't anywhere near Shoreditch. (Coincidentally the lovely Julian from the Mighty Boosh was there also.)

We arrive in Shoreditch at 'homeless feeding time' - lovely. Avoiding the tramps wrapped in their blankets (and smelling faintly of wee and soup - - - - them not us!), we finally make it to the Reliance, which used to be good, honest. - We wanted haircuts and hats, and the Reliance was offering us Harriets with highlights! It had all gone a bit posho townie. No ta.

So was off to the Brickie Arms, we weren't taking any chances, there would be asymmetric hair there - oh yes. Pity about it being a friday evening and completely rammed though. Luce made friends with a local, we picked up a few strays and left. Finally ending up in the Mother Bar. It looks good, but just ... ... ... isn't.

Sorry kids, but Old Street is over. Especially now the Queens of Noize have taken up residence at the 333 downstairs. I had been told this many times, but now I’ve seen it with my very own eyes. (We did spot the pocket sized singing chappie from Komakino wandering around though.)

Need to find somewhere else to go of a Friday evening.
Any suggestions?

Robots in Disguise @ Barfly

Fringey went to the Barfly on a famo brushing mission!

But did that stop us from having a rather good night out?

No it did not.

This included getting to see the SEAL CUB CLUBBING CLUB – a Tom Vek alike (with most of the talent removed) meets the Brakes (without the humour), but with a few flashes of genius that made us like them all the same. Sort of. And the ROBOTS IN DISGUISE - a flashy trashy girlie duo, with a punk performance ethic (that's being very shouty and some falling over), doing loud rawkus pop electronica. They made Fringey dance like robots from the future! (not 1984 then)

With dj sets from Noel Fielding and Alex Zane the music was more rock than indie, but it was still pretty darn dancable. It was also a very popular evening with the local camden kids and looking good on the dancefloor was difficult. - There wasn't much room to breathe let alone throw decent shapes, but we tried our very best and did not bring shame to the Fringey name.

Honourable mention has to be made of this fringeys new, very fringey, haircut. It did exactly what it was told and obtained many an admiring glance from the barfly regulars, including Mr Alex Zane! So much kudos and thanks to my wonderful hairdresser Bev.

The Cribs @ ULU

"You know it's not right, but it's something you like!"

The CRIBS will never be cool and it even looks like they CUT THEIR OWN HAIR! (Toni & Guy mustn't have made it as far as Wakefield). But at least tonight they look like they've had a wash before coming on stage.

What the Crib sibs are instead, is a very, very good live act. Their tunes are practically contagious and provoke mass shoutalongs by the crowd. And crowd surfing. And mosh pitting. The grubby one’s lip does not split this time, but we lost count of how much bottled lager he managed to neck during the 45 minute set.

And their contempt for hipster/fashionista scenesters comes through in almost every song. Many of the cribbettes down the front have had an irony bypass, as the camera phones are out in force during 'I'm Alright Me' - "Like groupies with cameras/You come out like leeches/To bleed us". Still, not to worry, when the drummer is actually standing on his kit, competing for some of the attention bestowed on the indie rock twins down the front.

The night ends with ‘Wrong Way to Be' and the stage is totally trashed. Grubby twin flings himself into the audience - barely making it back alive and with his t-shirt in tatters. So he whips it off and dives back in. This time he has the arse ripped out of his jeans. If he’d tried for a third surf, the fanatical fans would have eaten him! But he’s physically dragged off by slightly more sober siblings. (Not before whipping off his shredded jeans and sending the young groupies into a feeding frenzy!)

The support act ENVELOPES, all multiple guitars, keyboards and vocals, stopped just short of wowing us with their take on beautiful quirky sixties indie pop - thanks to the muddy ULU sound. Wonder what they made of it all? - When we left the cribbettes were still fighting it out over bits of filthy denim.

Its their tragic uncoolness that makes the Cribs one of us – (I’m speaking generally of course, Fringey is extremely cool!). Remember kids - always - "Take drugs! Don’t eat!" and "Have contempt for those you meet!"

(Finally a big thank you to the seven foot chap who let me stand in front of him. Not that I gave him much of a choice. Cheers!)