- by Chris Cummins
- Friday, August 01, 2008
The job of a club promoter must be hard at times, having to book the right bands to attract a big enough crowd, setting the bill just so as not to bruise any egos and finding the perfect blend of musical genres to make a night a success can’t be easy. The promoter behind tonight’s event is either trying to break the mould or had taken a few too many narcotics when setting tonight’s bill. They have combined straight up Indie Rock, sixties physcadelica, Indie Disco and in the bar Dubstep and Drum & Bass. This might sound like Late of the Pier performing their new album, but in fact the music comes courtesy of London’s Officer Kicks, Northern lads Alvarez Kings and Welsh psychedelic throwbacks Radio Luxemburg.
First up on the eclectic bill are Officer Kicks, the four piece casually stroll out on to the stage and lead singer JR, toting over sized white sunglasses and a sparkly head band the result of four days at the secret Garden Party, promises us we are in for a "Fucking Rock and Roll Show". From the first song the band duly deliver, they play uncomplicated, pounding, riff laden rock music. Despite the room only being half full the band still manage to stir the crowd, enough so that three business men to the left of me, who at the start looked like they had walked into the wrong pub, have started head banging like giddy teenage boys at their first Guns and Roses concert. Their music is incredibly infectious and uplifting, you can’t help but feel the urge to rock out when you here the likes of, The Chopper and Dirty Sally.
Having just witnessed a classic rock n roll show, we were eager for some more music. Next up were the Alvarez Kings, the four piece from all other the north look like the archetypal band skinny jeans, trucker shirts and Beatles hair cuts. Unfortunately they don’t seem to have the music the back up the look. The set does start well, the bass lines are thumping, the drumming is frantic and the guitars are piercing, however after a few bars this all just melts into one big noise. As the set continues it becomes hard to distinguish between the songs, usual highlights 'Despair On The Stairs' and 'You Me Them and Us', just fade into the background, this sentiment is not just felt by me but by the rest of the crowd who begin to head for the other bar. Having heard their music on record I was surprised at how bad they sounded here, their musicianship is normally excellent, but tonight they boys just can’t seem to get it right.
After the last band’s failings hopefully Welsh kings of Psychedelic rock Radio Luxemburg can end the night on a high. On stage appears a Donny Osmond look a like, in jumbo flares and a Hawaiian shirt, closely followed by the rest of the band who resemble a bunch of sixties, Pink Floyd obsessed students, at this point I can’t help but feel that this is going to be terrible. However the set does start well, their sound is very powerful almost like Syd Barret era Pink Floyd on speed. As they continue, they draw upon more influences such as Arthur lee’s love, for Voyage to St Louiscious, and more than once the Beach Boys to produce a mesmerising set of psychedelic pop. On the evidence of tonight’s performance Radio Luxemburg effortlessly blend psychedelic rock with beautiful harmonies to produce infectious pop songs, however It’s very hard see where they fit in today’s music scene but if you are into your retro sixties music they are well worth the money.
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