"... What strikes me at this point is how interchangeable these band members are. Faded jeans, tight shirts, suit jackets, complicated fringes. I'm sure this has got a lot to do with my choice of venues but the people on stage are overwhelmingly white and male. The music being produced is reasonably different, band from band, but most fits very snugly into the mainstream. That's no crime in itself but it's disappointing that so many new musicians seem to have no ambition beyond aping very well-worn sounds.
These thoughts are temporarily forgotten when headliners Band(ism) take to the stage. The group are dressed entirely in white and each member is rocking a different mask. I'm more inclinded to be positive when a band is offering something visually on stage, which may smack of shallowness but we talk of "seeing" bands right? Band(ism) seem to understand that becoming the 847th band who look a bit like the Strokes will endear you to precisely no-one. The music's palatable and catchy rock but where they differ from, say Lucky Soul is having tremendously well-written songs. "Margate" is an absolute hit and whilst singer Mike Chavez-Dawson doesn't have the strongest voice it's difficult not to find the slightly-frightening guys in white completely enjoyable. ..."
Tuesday, 2 May 2006
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