Black Kids at the Zodiac - 3rd June 2008
I saw this band a few months ago at the Jericho Tavern and was sufficiently impressed to go and see them again, in a bigger venue. They've been touted as the next big thing (number 312) by various music papers, and so this time they were playing the larger Zodiac (the upstairs room). I'm notoriously bad at estimating the capacity of venues, but I would hazard a guess at maybe between 150-200 at the Jericho and perhaps about 400 in the Zodiac. I was especially interested in seeing if there was any discernible difference between then and now.
And there was - a much larger stage seemed to suit, giving them more confidence and their performance was full of genuine enthusiasm and energy. They do a nice line in bouncy rock pop, with the female vocals providing a nice foil to the main vocals of Reggie Youngblood (whose vocals do vaguely remind me of Robert Smith, which is interesting as a friend of mine had earlier that day described them as being reminiscent of "mid 1980s Cure, but without Lovecats"). And they know the power of a good title - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You and Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo) being two cases in point. They romped through their set and got better as the night wore on, so that by the end, they left the crowd wanting more. Or at least most of them - I was there with 3 others and I was the most enthusiastic, with the comments ranging from "I'm not sure I'd buy their album" to "I think I would have enjoyed it more had I known more songs" (OK, I am paraphrasing, but that was the gist). Well, I think I probably will buy their album, which is produced by Bernard Butler, interestingly.
There was no encore, and I kind of approve of this. I love when bands play encores but it is all supremely artificial really, especially when they haven't played particular songs and you know they are being saved for the encore. Was there ever a time when bands actually didn't intend to come back and only did so because of the reaction of the audience? Having said that, I also find it a tad arrogant when bands refuse to play encores, pointblank.
Anyway it was refreshing when they didn't, even although crowd wanted them to (I am assuming this was the case - we did leave when the house lights came up and the incidental music began playing. The crowd were hopefully chanting Black Kids, Black Kids, Black Kids, so if they did come on again, at least it was down to demand). Of course, it might have been down to number of songs, but no matter.
In any case, the Kids are alright.
And there was - a much larger stage seemed to suit, giving them more confidence and their performance was full of genuine enthusiasm and energy. They do a nice line in bouncy rock pop, with the female vocals providing a nice foil to the main vocals of Reggie Youngblood (whose vocals do vaguely remind me of Robert Smith, which is interesting as a friend of mine had earlier that day described them as being reminiscent of "mid 1980s Cure, but without Lovecats"). And they know the power of a good title - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You and Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo) being two cases in point. They romped through their set and got better as the night wore on, so that by the end, they left the crowd wanting more. Or at least most of them - I was there with 3 others and I was the most enthusiastic, with the comments ranging from "I'm not sure I'd buy their album" to "I think I would have enjoyed it more had I known more songs" (OK, I am paraphrasing, but that was the gist). Well, I think I probably will buy their album, which is produced by Bernard Butler, interestingly.
There was no encore, and I kind of approve of this. I love when bands play encores but it is all supremely artificial really, especially when they haven't played particular songs and you know they are being saved for the encore. Was there ever a time when bands actually didn't intend to come back and only did so because of the reaction of the audience? Having said that, I also find it a tad arrogant when bands refuse to play encores, pointblank.
Anyway it was refreshing when they didn't, even although crowd wanted them to (I am assuming this was the case - we did leave when the house lights came up and the incidental music began playing. The crowd were hopefully chanting Black Kids, Black Kids, Black Kids, so if they did come on again, at least it was down to demand). Of course, it might have been down to number of songs, but no matter.
In any case, the Kids are alright.
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