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Improper dancing in the middle of the street
Electric Six @ Islington Academy
Zoot Woman As a support act, these really rather failed to grab attention. They were a little bit 80s, a little bit pretentious, a little bit too bassy, and, well, all a bit lacklustre, really.
Since the support were unadvertised, unannounced and mostly unnoticed, I went off on a bit of a rant about how all bands really ought to put their name on the bass drum. OK, so it's all a bit '60s, but it means you don't end up watching a band with no clear idea who they are. Hurrah for Franz Ferdinand, I said. This rant was somewhat curtailed when I suddenly observed that actually they did have their name on the drum. Zoot Woman. Apparently. Googling this morning suggests they weren't lying.
Electric Six. Last year, they changed the face of the UK scene not a jot. They were, however, extremely fun and entertaining while not doing it. Oh, and there's six of them. This surprised me.
For some reason, my image of Dick Valentine (the singer) has settled around the video for Danger! High Voltage! - sharp suit, Brylcreemed hair, and a general Gomez Addams (as played by Raul Julia) demeanour. I was thus slightly surprised to find him curly haired, and actually rather older than expected. He does, however, bound round the stage like a loon, and, between leering lecherously into the audience and riffling through wads of banknotes, appears to be having a thoroughly good time.
Most surprising moment: The band leaving the stage, and Dick Valentine (who'd gone from jacket to shirt to t-shirt) whipping off his shirt and trousers. He grabbed a guitar, and stood in his boxer shorts to bash through a cover of The Magnetic Fields' Underwear. Then the rest of the band came back, he got dressed, and the gig continued.
The set was gently peppered with songs off "the new album", which sounded mostly like the album tracks from Fire. Which isn't bad - they're fun, and slightly silly. But I don't think they'll be having major chart success again with them.
People danced. People bounced a lot, to both familiar and unfamiliar tracks. The sound did seem a bit muddy, to me - it was a big chunk of noise, rather than voice and five instruments. But more than anything else it was fun, it was a very happy gig, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely (me included).
However, ChrisC handed them the uncoveted Common People Award[*]. They finished their set and went off stage... without having played Gay Bar. If a band wants to be non-populist and leave a well-known song out the set, that's fine and it's their choice. Deliberately leaving it, just so the crowd shouts for it is Just Wrong.
[*] Created when he saw Pulp who, just after Common People had catapulted them from Sheffield-based near-obscurity to a household name, played a set which ommitted the single, then came back to perform it as an encore.
Zoot Woman As a support act, these really rather failed to grab attention. They were a little bit 80s, a little bit pretentious, a little bit too bassy, and, well, all a bit lacklustre, really.
Since the support were unadvertised, unannounced and mostly unnoticed, I went off on a bit of a rant about how all bands really ought to put their name on the bass drum. OK, so it's all a bit '60s, but it means you don't end up watching a band with no clear idea who they are. Hurrah for Franz Ferdinand, I said. This rant was somewhat curtailed when I suddenly observed that actually they did have their name on the drum. Zoot Woman. Apparently. Googling this morning suggests they weren't lying.
Electric Six. Last year, they changed the face of the UK scene not a jot. They were, however, extremely fun and entertaining while not doing it. Oh, and there's six of them. This surprised me.
For some reason, my image of Dick Valentine (the singer) has settled around the video for Danger! High Voltage! - sharp suit, Brylcreemed hair, and a general Gomez Addams (as played by Raul Julia) demeanour. I was thus slightly surprised to find him curly haired, and actually rather older than expected. He does, however, bound round the stage like a loon, and, between leering lecherously into the audience and riffling through wads of banknotes, appears to be having a thoroughly good time.
Most surprising moment: The band leaving the stage, and Dick Valentine (who'd gone from jacket to shirt to t-shirt) whipping off his shirt and trousers. He grabbed a guitar, and stood in his boxer shorts to bash through a cover of The Magnetic Fields' Underwear. Then the rest of the band came back, he got dressed, and the gig continued.
The set was gently peppered with songs off "the new album", which sounded mostly like the album tracks from Fire. Which isn't bad - they're fun, and slightly silly. But I don't think they'll be having major chart success again with them.
People danced. People bounced a lot, to both familiar and unfamiliar tracks. The sound did seem a bit muddy, to me - it was a big chunk of noise, rather than voice and five instruments. But more than anything else it was fun, it was a very happy gig, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely (me included).
However, ChrisC handed them the uncoveted Common People Award[*]. They finished their set and went off stage... without having played Gay Bar. If a band wants to be non-populist and leave a well-known song out the set, that's fine and it's their choice. Deliberately leaving it, just so the crowd shouts for it is Just Wrong.
[*] Created when he saw Pulp who, just after Common People had catapulted them from Sheffield-based near-obscurity to a household name, played a set which ommitted the single, then came back to perform it as an encore.
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I reckon encores in general are Just Wrong. Especially people who do, like, three lots of 'em. Evil. Play your tunes, then let me go home. I'm not going to stand there screaming for the missing hit, or stamping my feet, or whatever, I'm just going to be impatient for you to get on with it, since we all know you're coming back on stage again. It's emotional blackmail, is what it is. "We're going to come back on stage, but only if you show us how much you want us to". I already spent a lot of money showing you I want to see you perform. I don't see why I have to do it all over again. Grump ;-)
Umm. Glad Electric 6 were good. Hurrah for a return to vicarious gig-going ;-)
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This depends mostly on the attitude which the audience member imagines the band to have. From the band's point of view they're mostly following convention, plus you're allowed to play one completely experimental new thing or cover in the encore and nobody is allowed to whinge if it's pointless shite (a bit like secret tracks on CDs), plus it's nice to have everyone shouting for you.
That's fringe benefits, though. The main reason for planned encore breaks is that you've been singing for an hour plus, your voice is completely shot, but you need to bash out the big finishing numbers (preferably in the right key). Singers perform much better if they take breaks at the right times, and the rest of the band probably doesn't mind a rest and a fag.
I've noticed a fair few bands don't even bother any more saying "thank you very much everybody and good night" when they go off the first time - in which case it's not strictly an encore break at all because they haven't pretended they're finished. Does that address your concerns over the etiquette of the situation? ;-)
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That'll lead to supersticky mosh pits!
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(Not mine of course, I wouldn't be drinking Carling. Why the hell do people take drinks into pits, anyway ? Silly buggers.)
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(For the record, I don't mind them playing experimental shite in the middle of the set, as long as they follow it by something good that everyone knows.)
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The RHCP in Hyde Park only played Under The Bridge and Give It Away as an encore. Come to think of it, Radiohead only played Creep as an encore.
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(At least, I think they're lesser - both Radiohead and RHCP have other well-known songs.)
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Pop pickers!
If you like Electric Six's style check out Unisex Salon, they are a newish, slightly undiscovered band from the states (so you might have to dig around on t'interweb a bit for them) with a very similar style and a stage presence that oozes with kink :-)
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(Anonymous) 2004-07-10 02:07 pm (UTC)(link)