Koko – Camden, London
10-02-2006
The gig was sold out, the queue snaked around the corner of Koko. What bothered me was touts selling ticket at 2 for £5, and 6 girls just giving their tickets away…it made me wonder about what to expect. What did they know, that I didn’t…thankfully f*ck all! As I walked in the doors I could immediately feel the sardine syndrome. The venue was packed, you couldn’t move, and trying to get a clear view of the stage became a never ending battle. The bar in itself was a moshpit of elbows!
Silence fell through the entire room. People react in 2 different ways at gigs, they either go completely off their heads or stand in silent appreciation. This gig was the latter. The crowd was a mixture of all ages, and people who were clearly into various types of music other than rock, which made it interesting.
Being compared to the likes of Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, Talking Heads and even Interpol. It is easy to make the mistake in thinking this band has no smack of originality, and that their publicist is a living legend. They manage to throw all these influences into a melting pot and pull it off in their own hippy-go-lucky way. They strangely exude a Krishna procession vibe as they scuttle around on stage and clap, and dance to their own songs. I have never seen anyone quite enjoy playing the tambourine so much!
What struck a chord with me was how the drummer pulled all the eclectic sounds together. He was on top form, while the rest of the band swapped instruments, and moved themselves around. Great harmonising led by Ounsworth, had the crowd staring in dumbstruck awe. Satan Said Dance was one of the few tracks that got everyone to close their gapping jaws and shake it! It was great to watch such a random mix of people have such a great time together. Koko was a perfect venue for this type of band-the sound and lighting are always superb and I have never been a let down!
They played all their songs-they had to! They only have one album. For their encore they saved about 3 songs. I am a firm believer that as a new band you should have a stash of un-released covers up your sleeve to dish out to the starving crowd for encores. It was heartbreaking watching everyone come to realisation that the 1 hour set was indeed over, and no amount of hanging around the stage was gonna change that.
With a self-produced, self-released, self-titled debut album behind them. CYHSY stand as icons of hope for many aspiring bands. This band will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside!
Even their website is cute!
Niki Kova’cs