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Next-big-thing, The Long Blondes have not had it easy, but after this opening slot, it’s hard to work out why the Sheffield based band are not already held close to the Indie nation’s heart. Consisting of two couples and a front woman who could easily contest to be the most charismatic woman in England, the Long Blondes themselves have suggested their struggle can be attributed to their sexuality. Certainly, singer Kate Jackson plays on this throughout the set, strutting around her limited space and stamping her feet to the beat, she purrs the lyrics to songs 'Lust in the Movies' and 'A Knife For The Girls' into the microphone. Although the girlish shrieking backing vocals are unbearably harsh on some of the songs, particularly last single 'Separated By Motorways', The Long Blondes make for an impressive opening slot, and warm the crowd up well for the acts to follow.
After all, the audience needs to be prepared for the Automatic. Even from my position at the back, it’s clear they’re making more than an average storm for only the second band on the bill; life friends are made in the mosh pit during 'Recover' and 'Raoul', while the colossal 'Monster' has the whole venue quacking in its boots, even mouth chanting the chorus. For a new band and indeed a new single, this must be overwhelmingly powerful, and can only hint at the future success of the Cardiff based band.
Now for the reason I couldn’t return straight home and write this review before I forgot tiny details. Now for the reason this gig has well and truly cemented its place at the top of my “Best Gig Ever” list. Now for the reason I sat in a pub, utterly speechless, for two hours on Saturday night. ¡Forward, Russia! are a life line. Live, they turn you into a flesh hungry monster, barking the words, screaming incoherently when you don’t know or can’t understand what the hell Tom Woodhead is going on about. They create the same fanaticism in fans as alternative pioneers Muse and then some; Whiskas and his mathrock-indie-alternative-techno guitar riffs, Kate and her complicated 10 beat bars, Rob’s steady but equally mental, dancey bass lines. And then there’s Tom, a front man with so much electrically charged energy, several of the younger members of the audience scuttle backwards at the mere sight of him. Biting the microphone wire, his eyes rolling around in his head, he looks like a rabid dog, but a rabid dog that can inspire every single person in front of him to dance. You can dance to ¡Forward, Russia!, trust me. It’s impossible not to. The whole performance is just unbelievable. Unbelievable. Even if you don’t like their music on record, I seriously recommend you go to see this band. They will change your mind.
Tiffany Daniels |
| Coding: Darren Burrows