Live

We Are Scientists, Roland Shanks

Anthony Baldacci 05/09/2005

On record We Are Scientists always managed to come across as just shy of the mark. Vaguely interesting, but not attention grabbing, so in going to the Barfly on this chilly evening there was a certain amount of trepidation.

There were a silly amount of support bands on the bill, the only one of which I recall the name of being Roland Shanks, who were boring as hell, yet another band that turns up in London with their scuffy guitars and Gang Of Four drumming. Oh well, with that endured, there is only a matter of time until the main feature come on stage.

And so they do, not only are these boys actually very funny but their sound takes on a much more sizeable dimension live. They sound massive! The first single goes down like piping minestrone on a January afternoon as people go mental for Scientists dancing, pushing, shoving and singing the lyrics back at them, much to the bands apparent amusement. I'm entirely certain Singer/Guitarist Keith Murray doesn't stop smiling throughout this whole set, bless his cottons.

Other crowd favourites include recent single The "Great Escape" and "Inaction" for which the crowd goes equally potty, the little scamps. In terms of highlights though, you really would have to work hard to beat 50 or so people all shouting “If you want to use my body, go for it…”. I'm still not convinced they were really paying attention to what they were saying.

All in all, this was a good show by We Are Scientists. They're exciting live despite their slightly down-paced recorded output, and it helps that they're very nice fellows. If you don't like this band, go and see them, then make up your mind. That's my 2 pence worth anyway.