Metro Riots
One Man Band guy
Humanzi
Kings College
08-03-2006
Its one of the coldest nights in London, yet the queue still snakes around the entrance at Kings College. Touts were of course milking the Sold Out gig.
The experience as you walk in is very surreal. It’s like walking into a school canteen with a stage added in the corner. The VIP and photographers section is far from the stage, and they were using the biggest lenses I had ever seen! I’m sure nothing escaped being captured in the realness of night.
On this review, I think the support bands deserve special mention:
Metro Riots are up 1st. This band immediately exudes a Test Icicles presence. The singer looks like an eye lined version of Iggy Pop-but a more worn version. The bassist gave out epileptic burst s of energetic playing, while the guitarist thought he could pull off some Jimmy Hendrix? …uh…no, rather not! Great band, they sound a little too close for comfort, like the Datsuns, and the 80’s Matchbox B-line Disaster. Loads of potential.
Out of the blue, appears a man with instruments around his shoulders, and strapped to his head. A one man band! The look of confusion was priceless, as a man clad with modern harmonica and semi-acoustic started singing with full passion, tales of France. Proof that big hair is ALWAYS good hair, his afro was proudly enormous. He played a 10min set of 3 well-rehearsed songs and then dissipated off stage as if he was never there to begin with…
Next are Humanzi. I have seen them before, and it is always a pleasure. They look straight outta Dublin, with strong musical influence from The Strokes. Whenever I see this singer I always reminisce the early Rolling Stones? Their set was composed of seamless variations, which makes it easy to see why they are the opening band. The solid band drew a crowd, which looked like they just stepped out of The Mighty Boosh. Combine that with enormous amounts of distortion, and you will be counting seconds till shuttle launch…
21:30…Dirty Pretty Things should have been playing according to the original schedule!
22:00…They still setting up and taking down Humanzi’s gear…
22:30…Any second now…the wait is equivalent to getting a night bus, drunk out of your mind at 3 am, from somewhere arb…like Wimbledon!
22:45…Gary Powell apologises for Barat’s lame-ass migraine! He eases the disappointed booing crowd with a solo impromptu…half naked…that’s better…
23:00…Half the crowd have left. The venue is still surprisingly packed?
23:05…Fucking finally!!!
Dirty Pretty Things arrive on stage to a warm, outta control welcome. I shake my head in disbelief that a mass of people can be so forgiving and easy to please, without an apology. For a new band to get booed before hitting the stage, holds a new record of embarrassment I would think-then again, maybe it happens too often that not! The first couple of songs were out of key, which led me to believe it was more than a migraine that was going on backstage. The guitarist looked like he couldn’t utter a word without drooling over himself? The crowd didn’t notice, and were pawing eagerly at stage to get a feel of the band.
The explosion of sound had people crowd surfing, and singing along to all their songs. As the gig wore on, their sound became tighter. Their tracks: You Fucking Love It, Bloodthirsty Bastards, Death on the Stairs and I Get Along were just as good as The Libertines, as when Pete fronted for them. You can hear the Ska influence echo through the prominent tinge of Paul Weller. The raw urgency expelled in the vocals, keep the songs alive like only The Libertines could have. You can hear and see the close bond between the band, and it gives you a sense they are here to stay.
GREAT band, but little difference to the original version – same bullshit, they still late for their own gigs. The only difference is they don’t get to blame it on Pete anymore – there is a replacement Pete in every sense of the word! Perhaps the band’s sell-out tour has impaired their passion for playing, and funded some backdoor passions?
If this band doesn’t get it together, they may end up being a Flash in The Pan-so go see them if you were a fan of The Libertines, as there are no guarantees they will maintain their staying power. Or simply get the CD, so you not left hanging an hour and a half for a 40min set!
Niki Kova’cs