1 June 2008
May Gigs
We went to see a few more bands in May. Here’s who we saw and what I thought about them...
The Wombats – Thursday 15th May 2008
The Wombats have been knocking around the charts for a while now but I only really started to notice them shortly after Chris Riley mentioned them when I kept hearing their re-release of Moving to New York being constantly played on the radio earlier this year.
For a three-piece band they have a really full sound, and that goes for their instruments and vocals. Anyone who’s listened to their album will have heard the first short a cappella track Tales Of Girls, Boys And Marsupials. They opened the gig with this and proved they really can sing – albeit like a barbershop triplet!
Full of energy, they continued to impress throughout the gig and proved they really knew how to get the crowd going. They belted out pretty much ever song from their album – occasionally taking it in turns to add some keyboard to the tunes – before leaving the stage prior to the encore, when a huge inflatable wombat appeared on the balcony.
The Wombats are a talented bunch of musicians who write some catchy tunes and certainly know how to put on a good show. I’d definitely recommend getting tickets if you ever get chance to see them.
As always, watch the video above or view the rest of the photos and videos on Flickr.
Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong – Saturday 17th May 2008
This is the emptiest I’ve ever seen the Leadmill. You know a gig isn’t very popular when there are no ticket touts hanging around outside. We turned up fairly late and I reckon there were only a couple of hundred people there. Given that Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong were nominated for Best New Band at this year’s NME Awards – along with winners The Enemy and Foals, The Pigeon Detectives (see below) and The Wombats (see above) – this should’ve set alarm bells ringing...
Perhaps word had got out that Joe Lean is an over-the-top drama queen who obviously wants to be seen as some kind of troubled artist. When you tell the already sparse audience they need to do ‘this clapping thing’ and they don’t bother, it’s probably advisable to not shout “Just clap for f*ck’s sake!” expecting them to suddenly join in. And when another twenty or so people have walked out, you probably shouldn’t tell the remaining audience to “shut up and dance to this” either. It’s a shame Joe Lean feels he needs to be like this because the rest of the band seemed fine and the music was pretty good.
By comparison, their support band – The Beggars – were pretty good. Unlike Joe Lean, the four young lads from Reading managed to ignore the lack of audience and just get on with the gig. Their front-man needs to get a bit more stage presence but their lead guitarist, who also took on lead vocals on a couple of the songs, was really full of life and seemed to love every minute that he was on stage. It would’t surprise me if he’s the real talent behind all their stuff.
The Pigeon Detectives – Wednesday 21st May 2008
There’s not much else I can say about The Pigeon Detectives that I didn’t say after we went to see them last November.
Like I said after the last gig, you just can’t beat a classic five-piece band – i.e. lead vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and drums. Despite having injured his leg a week or two before the gig, front-man Matt Bowman was possibly even more energetic that he was last time.
Unfortunately, since their new album was being released five days after the gig, the audience didn’t know all the new songs. That didn’t seem to make any difference though; the audience was still jumping around and singing along to all the new tunes. Having now heard the new album, I reckon it’s probably on a par with the last one. There are a couple of excellent, really catchy energetic numbers that stand out but the whole thing in general is really good.
The Pigeon Detectives didn’t bother with a pointless encore this time either. They just played all the songs they wanted to play and left the stage. I really wish more bands would do this instead of milking the audience for more clapping and cheering. And just like last time, the audience left the venue with another Phoenix-Nights-esque rendition of one of their tunes playing in the background. (This time it was their new single This Is An Emergency.)
Once again, this was a truly excellent gig by who I consider to be one of the UK’s best bands!
I guess it goes without saying now that you can watch the video above or view the rest of the photos and videos on Flickr.
May Gigs posted by Tony Ruscoe 1 comments Add your comments
1 Comments
Wombats: Not bad. Even as a person of no technical knowledge on the subject, unlike your good self Busker Ruscoe, I can hear capable voices, pleasing tunes and good instrumental ability.
Pigeon Detectives: cat voiced, soulless, hacks. Charlotte makes better sounds as she fills her nappy. You've lost it with this one Ruscoe. I truly value your opinion an all things musical but this is sadly your blind spot. Here is a quote about them I read that tickled me.
"It’s a small wonder they don’t release an album every week – and a blessing, too, since this plodding meat’n’potatoes grit-rocker proves them less capable of musical progression than Kerry Katona."
