Live

Japandroids, Yuck, Tellison

Rhian Daly 20/05/2010

Walking into the dark recesses of the Garage might be a more torturous experience than usual tonight, what with the lower end of Holloway Road basking in some of the best weather we've seen so far this year. That is until we fling open the doors to the main room and find the recently estranged Tellison just about to launch into a brand new song. Possibly called 'Get On', it and the other newie showcased straight after 'Collar Bone' are colossal rock monsters that should see the four Londoners become a force to be reckoned with. Closing their set with the more familiar 'Gallery', it's hard to see why they aren't already.

Buzz band of the moment Yuck follow swiftly with an altogether different kind of brilliance. A 90s throwback where Elastica meets Lush and the world is transformed into a soft, hazy utopia, it's no wonder their name is being dropped left, right and centre. Live, they're engaging, awkward and (perhaps unintentionally) funny with drummer Johnny's between-song comments making them even more endearing than their love of double denim.

This is all well and good but what everyone's really hear to see tonight isn't the capital's latest indie darlings but a badass two-piece from Vancouver, BC. Japandroids don't hold back tonight with Brian King eagerly introducing himself and bandmate David Prowse before launching into the lead track from their debut album, 'The Boys Are Leaving Town'. What follows is an impassioned performance of the whole of Post-Nothing, plus a few extras for good measure. We're treated to 'Art Czars', the first in a 5 single series planned for this year, a couple of tastes of the recently released No Singles compilation and a brand new song during which King announces they'll buy a “bunch of drinks” for the person who spots the part where they fuck up. Luckily for Japandroids' wallets, they play it flawlessly.

Whilst the two guys on stage might be putting their all into tonight's gig, by and large the crowd is mostly pretty tame. There's a small group at the front that are going for it but the majority seem contented to stand and watch. Things start to warm up as the night draws to a close with 'Darkness on the Edge of Gastown' and 'Young Hearts Set Free' and then finally, explode (well, kind of) as they've been promising to during the finale of a cover of McLusky's 'To Hell With Good Intentions'. If only it could have been like this the whole way through, the audience's energy would have matched that of Japandroids'.