Alas, the night evenutally started and the summer's heat was already making a bit of a presence in the venue. I'm pretty sure we were only a few degrees off making sweat drip from the ceiling...

Italy's Disco Drive were on first. No prizes for guessing that they like disco music and are influenced by Les Savy Fav for you though! Although saying that, they were a more Q And Not U-type of outfit. Comparisons aside, they presented a very dance-able rock and had the tricks to make it all exciting, with an extra half of a drum kit for the guitarist to attack when needed and basslines that made your foot tap along without you meaning to. A few of the crowd were getting involved and showing support and Disco Drive clearly proved that they were a great way to start the night.

Pedestrian 02 openers, Tiger Force were on next. Instantly, members of Help She Can't Swim stood in front of me. Clearly I was not the only one who has been impressed by Tiger Force, HSCS seemed to be very happy with their choice as tour-support and, in between slightly nervous crowd banter, Tiger Force continued to blast their angsty pop hits to a crowd who began to regain momentum towards the end of their set. The drums (played off an mp3 player) didn't come out of the P.A. too cleanly and that would be my only criticism. An improvised synth and drum machine breakdown (where a microphone then hit a synth key and only added to the unpredictability/greatness of the improvisation) at the end sealed their set. Another few people added Tiger Force to their mental checklist of 'bands to watch out for' and proceeded to the bar downstairs to cool themselves down.

I seem to do this a lot but I was so hungry, so hot, so thirsty that I spent a bit too much time outside (eating cheese on chips and avoiding football hooligans) meaning that I only managed to catch the last song of T.I.T.S.'s set. What I did see seemed like something I would've been able to enjoy in the right frame of mind but in my current state I was thankful that I was able to stand up rather than lounge about on the floor. Although, thinking of it, I'm fairly sure I did some of that anyway.

Help She Can't Swim, then. A band I've loved for a very long time, yet have never seen live before. I hadn't heard the best feedback about their shows, which did worry me but I couldn't work it out - how could this music be bad live? It's energetic, it's fun, it's exciting! And it was too, with a few favourites off debut album 'Fashionista Super Dance Troupe' and unfortunately no songs off 'Suck Our Band' (despite how relevant and ultimately amazing it would've been!) were playing but new songs were played, which is really what the tour was about and although there weren't many new songs, I was able to gain an idea of what 'The Death of Nightlife' would sound like. I don't think I'm in for a disappointment.

The unfamiliarity with these new songs was the only thing that perhaps stopped the set from being as enjoyable as it was but I don't think I can get away with saying that as the performance was great, despite how "fucking hot" they thought it was and they even further proved how much they loved Tiger Force by playing riffs from their songs when others were tuning up or replacing their lyrics with "T-I-G-E-R F-O-R-C-E" on 'Apples' and then obviously inviting the band on stage to hit cymbals and tambourines with them.

Ignore the bad feedback you may have heard about their live show, Help She Can't Swim certainly know how to throw a party!

Words: Craig Sharp
Photos: Jan Urant (website)