Do people really like anything they are told to like? Given the reception and quality of the first three bands tonight, the answer is most likely yes. So Kid Harpoon are on pretty early and there's not many people here, but it doesn't stop a group of girls dancing at the front. Bad acoustic tinged ska anyone? It's 9 o'clock and I want to go home; Foals won't be on for 2 and a half hours. Good-o. the venue fills up a bit and Good Books play. They sound like Athlete with more guitars (© James Trafford) and they've had a fair amount of press so the kids are lapping them up. If a band gets featured in the music press then it means they are good - this is what I have learnt. No-one could seriously like Good Books. At least The Noisettes are entertaining; only slightly, but enough to pitch them above the first two bands. In three hours, the highlight was taking a trip to the toilets and finding this:
Yep, Topshop water.
Eventually Foals come on. It was an odd move to have Foals headline, but this is a Vice party and therefore cutting-edge and hip whilst slightly ironic. Or something. In London, Vice's target market, Foals probably have a slight fan base; but we're not in London, we're in a shitty nightclub in Sheffield, which smells of sick. So Foals get a muted reception to start with. I'm in two minds about them; part of me wants to dismiss them on the grounds that they're just ripping off Battles and Don Caballero; the other part says to accept this and move on; just be grateful they don't sound like The Libertines and are trying something different. I go with the latter and enjoy the silly tech guitar parts and the fast hi-hats and ignore the bad vocals and the fact that they only have one song. Most of the crowd warm to them and by the end there's some dancing going on. At some point in near future, Foals are going to get lots of press and I assume then more people will like them. The question is, will they be described as "like Klaxons, but with guitars!" or "Nu-Rave meets post-hardcore!"?
Probably both. Make your mind up here.
1 comment:
although i did not have the "pleasure" of this evening, i am reaping the benefits in terms of free clothes, bag and lipgloss, hurrah. James kept the topshop water for himself unfortunately.
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