'Weird, weird, weird, weird' - the words of Late of the Pier bassist Andrew Faley (aka Francis Dudley Dance) shortly after leaving the stage at Shibuya O-East last night. Why weird? The band's performance of their supernaturally synthesised, off-kilter sci-fi pop come glam-thrash sound absorbed the capacity strong audience like a McDonald's advert would a small child. It was intense, ruthless and ultimately successful.
So why weird? The band had a forty minute set, the venue management required a ninety minute set, so their usual set-list has a DJ set/dance-off placed delicately in the middle of it. Faley provided the tunes, whilst lead vocalist Samuel Eastgate (aka Samuel Dust) and synth queen Sam Potter (aka Jack Paradise) entered the crowd attempting to find 'the best dancer in Tokyo'; drummer Ross Dawson (aka Red Dog Consuela) presumably went somewhere and rested his arms. On reflection, the band were unsure as to how this impromptu interlude had fared, suggesting that from then on 'there was a strange atmosphere'.
TR disagrees. In fact, upon the band returning to the stage the crowd were ready to respond to their every whim, with Potter emerging wielding a Bowie-esque power of persuasion as the clap conductor, the crowd controller. Indeed they were twice as hyped with 'Hot Tent Blues/Broken' working the whole place into a frenzy, only to be topped by 'Bathroom Gurgle' as their finale.
www.lateofthepier.com
www.myspace.com/lateofthepier
****/5
No comments:
Post a Comment