Live

Cajun Dance Party, To My Boy, Jakobinarina, Florence and the Machine

Stas Werno 31/03/2007

If you go to a lot of gigs, it is inevitable that money for beer is needed. When money for beer is needed it is also inevitable that you must work to earn it, and it is due to this that I regretfully missed both Florence And The Machine and Jakobinarina. I arrived just in time to catch the majority of To My Boy's (pictured) set, a nicely rowdy start to the evening. The 'Boys obviously take influence from Test Icicles ( R.I.P.) in their performance style, finding the need for a drummer or any kind of proper band unnecessary to create a compelling live show. The music also held up well with some stomping electro-punk tunes bouncy enough to keep the kids happy.

Cajun Dance Party however were not so impressive. Recently signed to XL Recordings I had a lot of hope for the guys (and girl) - with XL being home to giants such as The Prodigy and The White Stripes you expect gold from them and generally can't go wrong with the bands on their roster. CDP however came across as a slightly worse, geeky version of the Kooks which... well, let's just say I'm not a massive Kooks fan. They tried to save themselves at the end with signature track "The Next Untouchable", a song I'm actually quite fond of, but the muddy sound of the venue made even that moment disappointing - it was too little too late.

Oddly the best act of the night were the kids. Having the venue allow anyone over the age of 14 in was a great move and should be done more often. Getting caught in a sea of jumping lunatics reminded me how much I loved seeing a good band and being part of a violent mosh pit when I was still a hormonal wreck - more promoters should remember how passionate they were about music when they were that age too.