Forest Fire / Broadcast 2000 / We Aeronauts

The Luminaire
14 August 2009

We Aeronauts kicked things off, and whilst it doesn't really seem ok to give them a hard time as a bottom-of-the-bill newbie act, I think I must do exactly that.

Obviously a band with a lot of friends - they recently won the online ballot to earn the opening slot at Green Man next Friday - but it seemed that everything that they had to offer was overly familiar. More people on stage than would seem necessary, including one Pretty Girl? Check. Instrument switching between songs? Someone with bare feet? VERY SHOUTY DRUMMING that should have been supporting not dominating? Yip, yep, yup.....

Stornoway/ Fanfarlo/ The Leisure Society are some of the bands who are much better at making the type of music that We Aeronauts fail to emulate, although they seem to be trying to do exactly that. They aren't bad exactly, but I am really starting to run out of patience with this kind of weedy pigeon stuff unless it has some attribute which stops it being generic fluff.

Forest Fire by Anika

Next up was Forest Fire, in a switch to the running order apparently caused by Tom the B2K glock player having been double-booked. Second version of this that I have seen lately - when Marina & The Diamonds played the Notting Hill Arts Club last month, they didn't take the stage until after 11 as the keys guy had been spending his evening at The Roundhouse watching Oasis! (Edit: apparently this was a little fib, FF wanted to get away early to travel to France.)

FF were a welcome antidote to the previous band, with their tuneful blues-rock possessing a rather more punchy presence. The bass used quite a lot of effects and took an unusually prominent role in several songs, which was quite effective. However it rather spoils the performance aspect of a show when folk are scrabbling around twiddling knobs on the floor, when the sounds they are making should preferably be reinforced by some rock god poses.

Forest Fire - Slow Motion from Chocolate Bobka on Vimeo.

Enjoyable enough set, although I kept wishing that I was listening to The Subjects instead. I decided anyway to pick up the album at the booth, reckoning that the studio versions would offer another perspective on the songs - only to discover when I got home that I have had it in my itunes for over a year already. Pay attention!

Broadcast 2000 were their usual zesty selves, with the ever-growing live band now 7-strong. Their amazingly catchy pop songs are thoughtfully constructed and arranged, taking full advantage of the various percussion options on stage, and underscoring the often slightly wistful tone of the lyrics with a hint of a sombre note from the strings. They are also quite unique in that you could never mistake a B2K song for one by any other band.

Other news from the evening - Anika very kindly agreed to let me use her fantastic photos, so look forward to seeing some of these around here to help the place look a bit more cheerful. Thank you, I will pay you in OJ!