On seeing this year’s tour line-up I was a little confused. The Maccabees deserve to be there after two great albums, Bombay Bicycle Club fit in well too, it was the other two I couldn’t work out.
From The Drums I had previously heard a lot of hype and not much music, and from The Big Pink I’d heard that song about dominoes. After listening to both beforehand I wasn’t exactly enthralled. Unfortunately after now having seen them both live, my opinion is much the same. Openers, The Drums are clearly aware that their music is nothing special. When playing live they had the fundamental issue of not being able to play it all themselves. To make up for this deficit they play along to a backing track and dance around like lunatics in an attempt to distract us from the lack of live music. Regrettably, their dance of choice looks like a cross between the locomotion and a slow motion Ian Curtis, both of which are unadvisable.
The Big Pink initially seemed more promising, through a complex combination of pedals and effects, they filled the Pyramid Centre electronic bleeps and feedback. However after that, the band didn’t appear to have hooks, choruses, or anything of interest. Obviously people enjoyed Dominoes but other than it just sound like a bad version of Placebo being brutally arse-raped by a gang of daleks
After a fairly static start to the evening, the running order of the bands began to make sense. Bombay Bicycle Club immediately had a bigger impact on the crowd, despite barely saying a word for the whole set. The band seemed a lot more accomplished than their support acts despite only one full-length album and they provided a much more balanced set with intricate riffs as well as noisy choruses.
As the night drew on it was clear that the majority of people were here for the headliners. The Maccabees looked quietly confident, with the recent addition of a well deserved (and well utilised) brass-section. They showcased a faultless set of old and new material, but they’re attitude on stage makes them a great live band. In contrast to The Drums arrogant arsing around, The Maccabees seem genuinely happy to play and grateful to the crowd. Frontman Orlando ended the night by thanking pretty much everyone in the world. You’re very welcome Orlando.
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