Category: Music

O2 Wireless Festival
London Hyde Park,
25/06/06

It seems odd to be attending a ‘festival’ in Hyde Park; where tower blocks replace the traditional festival surroundings of fields and farmland, and where a plethora of public transport is only five minutes’ walk away. Still, that’s London for you. By all accounts, the O2 Wireless festival – now in its second year – seems to have been a huge success, and has drawn a near-capacity crowd for its final day.

“We’d like to thank James Blunt for opening up for us last night!” laughs Ok Go singer/guitarist Damian Kulash, his band’s infectious pop-rock anthems proving the perfect antidote to any remaining vestiges of singer/songwriter blandness. A cover of the Pixies classic ‘Wave Of Mutilation’ is a welcome surprise, but the real treat is saved for the finale, as the band down their instruments to recreate the synchronised dance routine from their ‘A Million Ways’ video. A superb start to the day.

Over on the Myspace stage, electro-rockers Suzerain manage to attract an impressively large crowd for a relatively unknown band, and reward the masses gathered with darkly anthemic songs like ‘Life On Film’ and ‘New Solution’. Definitely a band to watch. The Mystery Jets may not be to everyone’s taste, but they have a great sense of the bizarre, and the twisted art-pop of ‘You Can’t Fool Me Dennis’ wins them several new fans today.

Danko Jones appears to have suffered an eye injury, but it hasn’t dampened the Canadian motormouth’s resolve to put on the best, most foot-stompin’, ass-shakin’ riff-laden rock n’roll show in town. His band’s recent ‘Sleep Is The Enemy’ album is arguably their finest to date, and today they play with enough vigour and ferocity to get even the most tired and sunburnt of punters pumping their fists in approval. The lion may be injured, but he’s still the king of the jungle.

Unfortunately, due to the Xfm stage running late, we’re only able to see the first half of Gang Of Four’s headline set. A shame, as the veteran Leeds funk-punkers are on fine form, belting out classics like ‘At Home He’s A Tourist’ with the verve and stage presence of a band half their age. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Bloc Party or Franz Ferdinand record, then check out these guys for a valuable history lesson.

It’s strange to think that a decade ago, Depeche Mode seemed on the verge of collapse following frontman Dave Gahan’s much-publicised drug overdose. Fast-forward to the present, and the Basildon boys have found a new lease of life; with recent album ‘Playing The Angel’ hailed as their best effort in years. Surrounded by a stage set straight out of ‘Star Trek’, it’s clear that they can do no wrong tonight, as a remarkably youthful-looking Dave leads the band through a set bursting with old favourites. ‘Personal Jesus’ and ‘Enjoy The Silence’ are still synth-pop perfection, boosted by Martin Gore’s superb guitar work and the crowd’s voices, whilst ‘John The Revelator’ and ‘Precious‘ are proof enough of the band’s rekindled creative flame. As they close with ‘Never Let Me Down Again’, it’s evident that the location of this festival matters little, when it boasts a bill of this calibre.

Alex Gosman

The Soho Dolls
Scala
20.07.06

First up are the Soho Dolls at 8:20 sharp. A group reminiscent of Patti Smith, and Goldfrapp. Girls adorned with sky-scraping stiletto heels, and Boys clad in eyeliner. Their music is good enough to not want to try so hard…but, they do? A little too staged, and not passionately animated enough. Additional impromptu Rock ‘n Roll chaos, would give them the added Sex Appeal they seem to be searching for. Every band has an off night, and with all their back-to-back tour dates its no wonder that this is theirs.

Right on schedule She Wants Revenge confidently ooze onto the stage. Sporting matching moustaches the up and coming LA duo, are supported by a no-name drummer and additional guitarist. They kick off the set with the 2 minute instrumental electro synth warm-up of ‘Red Flags and Long Nights’, proving they can hold their ground instrumentally as well as on the DJ front. A couple of songs, and a short 15 minutes later they rock their Interpol-esque hit ‘She’s Lost Control’.

Warfield skilfully wields a cordless mic, perfectly swaying every choreographed move to every beat, of every song. Continuously moving, dancing and seemingly loving every moment, his charismatic sexy sways bring the stage to life. With his Jean-Paul Basquit hair scraped back, and tatts on his forearm his humble appearance arouses a stir. Eager women armed with camera phones keep clambering past to the front of the stage to get a photo. He politely and melodically gestures them away, carries on singing, and gently moves away to the back of the stage.

Their lyrics about edgy club lust in ‘Sister‘ rings out “She smelled like 2 a.m.,” Their on stage performance visually matching their raw, sleek, sexy red music videos, with the back monotone droning of “You can hurt me, do whatever you like…”. If that isn’t S&M enough for you the suggestive lyrics “Just give me the safe word and take my hand, / And smack me in the mouth my love.” of ‘Monologue’ have the crowd getting heated.

From the blank stares of ‘She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not’, to the thunderous hardcore dance beat of ‘I Don’t Want to Fall in Love’, it is clear that this band is not your average bandwagon. Their bassline constantly screaming revivalism. A tongue-in-cheek collaboration of all the best qualities of Joy Division, Depeche Mode, The Killers, and Interpol.

Just when you think they have run out of ideas, they introduce the interlude dark piano of ‘Disconnect’. Adam12 shows off his keyboard skills, then with a suave hat gesture disappears off stage.

They break into an encore, with Depeche Mode cover ‘Stripped’. Followed by their greatest hit ‘Tear you Apart’. The crowd rages as people get pushed back further, and further from the stage. They emphasise they will only play 3 songs…meaning they have run out of reserves. Ending with words of deep gratitude, they promise to come back and visit.

Niki Kova’cs