Ah, The Flapper. I've missed you old buddy. Even though it's only been a few weeks since my last visit to its dark underbelly, it feels like a much longer break from my favourite venue in the world. It was last year after all, yeah...?
As January has been a bit drab gig-wise, you can imagine my excitement to see that Tubelord were back in town, and the day after my birthday too. Fantastic. First up, Pandas and People take the stage. I've been following this Redditch four-piece for awhile now, and tonight is easily the best I've seen them play. A faultless set, which as I joked about with Alex and Tom afterwards saw no problems with their laptop or keyboards falling over! Their set is full of indie-pop nuggets: 'Grab Everything' and 'I Am The Floor' are two particular stand outs for me. Musically they are a hard band to pigeon-hole - at times they are reminiscent of indie-rock greats The Dismemberment Plan (whom they are fans of), but the synth and electronica flourishes point to more diverse inspirations - and it's this attribute that I find particularly attractive about P&P. A new song also gets an airing this evening, and whilst it sounds great it doesn't top the outstanding 'In the Dark.' If you don't listen to anything else off of their streaming album, listen to that one! They may just be the most technically-able band on the scene, but maybe I'm just a gushing fan boy. I really hope they make that push to get their material out there, as 2012 could be their year, and Distorted Tapes is behind them 100%.
 |
| Pandas and People |
As the countdown to the 2012 games gets closer and closer, I can imagine Norwich's Olympians are going to gain a lot of accidental hits on their website this year. Totally out of character for me (who usually remembers every band I come across...) I thought I hadn't heard these guys before, but as I started writing this review I realised I had, and that's why some of their songs seemed familiar! A great choice of tour support for Tubelord, Olympians blend of massive pop-hooks and delicate soundscapes is best exemplified in previous single 'Foreign Language'; a soaring pop-rock gem that is reminiscent of Weezer or Clarity-era Jimmy Eat World. Their latest single, 'The Great Gatsby,' is available via the imaginatively titled Olympians Book Club - a set of four singles released throughout 2012 and come stored in a hollowed out book. This kind of geekery gets a massive thumbs up from me, as do Olympians. Good guys, good music.
 |
| Olympians |
 |
| Tubelord |
Tubelord are a band who know how to put on a good show, and tonight are on top form as ever. Playing a mix of material from across both their albums to date, and despite latest LP Romance having come out last October, tonight's show still manages to have the sound and feel of a greatest hits set. Opening with the schizophrenic '...Abergavenny', before moving on to the excellent 'Never Washboard', it isn't until 'Stacey's Left Arm' that the crowd truly get into the groove of things. Whilst some fans have been down on their latest record, the band are clearly happy with it. And so they should be: '4T3' is a stunning synth-pop love song, whilst my favourite Romance cut 'My First Castle' is even better live than on the record, with Joseph's ranting "don’t pay rent, swear in the street!" making even the most hard-nosed listener crack a smile. Also worth a shout is tonight's rendition of fan-favourite 'Night of the Pencils' whose live reprise has been altered from "three's the magic number" to a refrain from Tears for Fear's 'Shout.' I'm sure there would have been a few people leaving The Flapper wondering why the lyrics "shout, shout, let it all out, these are the things I can do without, come on" seemed so familiar! Here's to pushing boundaries, and writing pop songs for rock kids. Here's to Tubelord.
No comments:
Post a Comment