As far as splinter groups go Dirty Pretty Things are actually quite good. Although Carl Barat was the main vocalist in The Libertines, he was rather unfairly regarded as the Andrew Ridgley of the band, somber, a bit on the dull side, however at times holding the band together through “challenging” times. I guess having Pete Doherty in your band must have been like having five Bobby Gillespie’s, completely unmanageable and fraught with daily difficulties and traumas. That said finally DPT seem to be getting the respect they deserve and tonight’s show at the Astoria was nothing short of excellent. The new tracks from the forthcoming album “Romance at Short notice” sound a lot bolder and rockier than their debut album “Waterloo to Anywhere” which were written and recorded shortly after the split from Doherty.
The band are currently on a mini tour promoting the new album which is out at the end of next month and are only performing at the 02 Wireless festival and the Reading and Leeds festivals this summer. However if you are attending any of these I’d recommend checking them out.
It’s beyond me why a band with only one album behind them would want to play a venue such as the Royal Albert Hall. I can’t explain why but for some reason it does not seem right. For decades the RAH has been the safe and comfy home to rock dinosaurs and MOR stalwarts however, in the last year the venue which brings us opera and ballet spectaculars is trying to move with the times by attracting new and younger acts. I saw The Wombats for the first time less than a year ago at The Fez club in Reading. With less than a hundred paying punters at the time it seems remarkable that nine months later they are able to sell out the RAH.
Supporting the Wombats were the much superior Lightspeed Championwho along with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly (my new favourite act) are one of the more interesting London bands. This is the third time that I have seen Lightspeed Champion in three months and they never fail impress me. Dev Hynes is a star and genius songwriter of epic proportions and the band is incredibly tight. They also have the most brilliant female drummer that I have seen for years. Whilst looking delecate and elegant she manages to underpin the band without being overpowering.
The Wombats were pretty surprisingly good. For the occasion they had hired a miniature orchestra who jazzed up the arrangements and brought a well needed grandeur to their jaunty Scouse pop songs. I was pleased that the band did rise to the occasion and put on a good show befitting to their surroundings. Unfortunately the lighting was terrible making photographing them very difficult. Bizarrely enough the lighting was worse tonight than at The Fez club, I know that lighting guys don’t care much for making photographer’s life’s easier however if I was standing in the gods I think I’d be pretty pissed off with the boomy bass heavy sound and the back-lit stage lights.
Watching the band tonight it amazed me how quickly and hard new bands are worked these days. Less than nine months after the release of their debut album the label have released three singles, all of which have been extensively promoted, they have been on two tours including the NME new music tour with The Enemy, and they are now embarking on a SIX MONTHS European tour which ends in October. In order for them to keep the momentum up they will need to release a new single in January at the latest which would mean that they’d need to be back in the studio in November. I hope that they don’t burn out before then, or indeed put on any more weight as front man Matthew Murphy seems to have filled out somewhat since I saw him in January during the NME tour. I guess all the touring and recording has caught up with him.
Jason Pierce has evidently been struggling with his demons over the past few years however, it was a rare pleasure to watch him perform many of his new songs at Camden’s Koko tonight. This was the first night of his tour promoting his new album which sees the reclusive Pierce hit the road until late October playing many of the summer’s festivals including Glastonbury in June.
Pierce who has been severely ill over the past three years is releasing his rather oddly titled album “Songs from A&E” later in the month on Sanctuary/Universal records later in the month and has already released the first single off the new album, “Soul on Fire” a couple of week’s ago. Despite his unfortunate health problems it would appear that his fascination with all things pharmaceuticaly related has continued now for well over a decade. His 1997 album, “Ladies and Gentlemen we are floating in space” is in my opinion is still his finest record to date, and whilst his new effort is in the same vein (excuse the pun), is less poignant than the album which was nominated for a Mercury Award and was written at the time of his tragic breakup from his long term partner.
Pierce’s new work continues down the melancholy road however, it is never gloomy and somehow manages to be bizarrely optimistic in places. The band are pretty hard core live and I doubt that his new show would appeal to those other than hardened fans however those who are familiar with the band will be pleased to see that they are back on form again after so many set backs.
Well the most hyped band of 2008 can now bask in the glory of a No.1 single and album which undoubtedly will enter the top 5 next Sunday. Even though No.1 singles mean less now than perhaps they did 10 or 20 years ago it’s quite a feat for a band who less than five months ago were playing venues such as The Hoxton Bar and Grill.
My blog from their show in January is not part particulally complimentary however, their potential was evident even at their first London show. Ever since this band performed at Glastonbury last year opinion has been divided on whether or not they were a cutesy manufactured pop band or were in-fact a real band who despite their obvious marketability, were keen to establish their own niche. If The Ting Tings are the result of clever marketing and A&R teams at Columbia they have done very well. I would go so far to say that the route of their success may now become a blueprint for similar acts wanting to break into the mainstream. Normally bands such as The Ting Tings would bypass the indie music press and radio and focus on targeting the likes of Radio 1, Capital, Virgin as well as appearing as special guests for big name artists playing the likes of the 02 arena and Wembley. This route has worked well for the likes of One Republic, The Feeling or One Night Only however unlike The Ting Tings none of these bands have any real credibility, nor have toured in the same way that the TT’s have over the past five months.
With the past three singles the band have received three “Single of the Week” with the NME and have been embraced by XFM from day one. The band slogged around the country with first on the bill on the NME new music tour with The Cribs, Does it offend you… and Joe Lean and the ….. this earned them a lot of brownie points with many in the music industry and has shown that they were wiling to put the leg work in. Katie White also has never exploited her good looks or sexuality in order to sell records or magazines. Bands nowadays are more likely to be marketed in the pages of Heat, Closer and the tabloids rather than the likes of the NME however this is a short lived strategy and one which they quite rightfully have steered clear of despite the inevitable pressure from they would have been from their record label.
Ok on to the gig. The show tonight was quite evidently a lot more confident that the previous ones that I have watched. For once Katie could take centre stage knowing that that the audience had paid to see them (her and Jules) rather than some other band on the bill. Critics have previously criticized her guitar playing and live performances however tonight they were excellent on all fronts. Musically they are not inferior to CSS or The Klaxon’s who this time last year were basking in the same success that The Ting Tings have found themselves in now. The key thing for them moving forward will be ensuring that they have a life after their No.1 single. Fingers crossed this hopefully won’t be too much of a problem for them.
Watching the Delays it’s hard to believe that this band have had two albums released by Rough Trade and are due to have their third which is going to be released by Polydor/Fiction in the forthcoming months.
The band plodded along in a pedestrian manner churning out the singles from their first two albums however, this was marred by the terrible sound which was so excruciatingly loud, it was virtually impossible to decipher anything audible in their incessant din. The lighting also was pretty appalling, well at least for the first three songs, making photographing the band a near impossible task.
The Delay’s have aspirations to be the next “Feeling” or even “Feeder” however based on what I witnessed tonight would very much doubt that they will break through with their next record. I could be wrong however tonight’s performance was pretty dull and in my opinion they lacked lacked any originality.
