Back at the Joiners, hooray. We'd brought the
rain with us and cowered in the doorway alone.
It seemed nobody else was coming for when the
doors were supposed to open, and I wondered what
to expect crowd-wise.
When we eventually got in, the support band were
just finishing sound-check and we sat in the bar
and had a couple of pints, watching people trickle
in. Sensing the set was about to start, we moved
into the main room. And strangely, there were
loads of people in there all of a sudden; brilliant.
I'd listened to the band briefly before I left
for the gig and was very much looking forward
to the show. Based in London, A.Human have some
awesome electro indie songs, and I couldn't wait,
as the six-piece scrambled onto the tiny stage
surrounded by guitars and numerous synths.
Opening with a strange introduction involving
everyone and everything, slowly layering up into
a funky explosion, I couldn't help but look at
the singer's interesting choice of dance moves
and facial expressions. Imagine Howard Moon in
front of the mirror with some scat jazz on full
power. That's good enough. Add in a few more disturbing
thrusts and you're there. It distracted me even
from a Thom Yorke on the bass, but aside from
that, when singing, his voice was amazing and
perfectly in tune, calling out over a funky indie
synth wondermix. They played awesome tracks awesome
tracks including "Black Moon" and "Fraudulent
Truths," featuring an live bonus line of
"so fuck 'em!" They retained a good
sense of humour even during in-band set-list confusion.
These guys were good, and the now nearly full
room, was loving it. Ending on a cover "Horse
With No Name," A.Human had been an excellent
opener to a, so far, extremely entertaining evening.
They made their way off stage, now the thrusts
had ceased, and polite conversation with the crowd
broke out. Baffling, but amazing. Time for another
pint.
When the Infadels come on stage, the first thing
you notice is the mis-match of people, in this
five-piece. The scruffy tight-jeaned indie kid
on the keys, hopping around like a loony, the
'fresh-out-of-Orson' guitarist, the 'I'm all of
Franz Ferdinand combined' drummer, the sophisticated
bassist with cravates, scarves and jackets galore,
and the front man of it all, who looked more like
a cockney hitman than anything else, with leather
jacket, bald head, and gold chain. Oh my my. Can
these nut-jobs really create those awesome songs?
Yes, quite frankly, they can.
Jumping head-first into the atmosphere created
by A.Human, the Infadels picked up exactly where
the previous band left off. As the singer leaped
around the stage, you could see they were all
having as much of a good time as the crowd, and
often made their feelings known.
"You know when you see us with no food or
no petrol, well, this makes it all worth it."<
The second song was their newest single from the
forthcoming album "Universe In Reverse."
The song was "Make Mistakes," a high
octane jumpy tune with a delightfully memorable
chorus line, which was just one of the many new
songs thrown into the set-list along with old
favourites.
"It's cool that you'll lend an ear to our
new stuff," commented the singer as the sweat
began to drip from each band member, symbolising
perfectly the energetic music these guys produce,
that inspire anyone and everyone to move, whether
is be a shy rhythmic twitch or a full on rave.
And then, a slow Western-like reverbed guitar
intro. No prizes for what comes next, "Topboy"
greets our ears as once again the singer leaps
his height, up in the air. Other predictable highlights
of the set were "Reality TV," and "Murder
That Sound," which both received mighty applause.
Over an hour into the set and it was approaching
half past eleven, the energy levels were still
at maximum, and ready for the final song. Another
obvious one, but still able to rock the room,
"Love Like Semtex," led by a funky guitar
riff, and arguably the Infadels most famous song
to date.
But all in all, mighty impressed. Far better than
I could have ever imagined, if you can grab tickets
to see either of the bands mentioned then they're
well worth it. Entertainment to the maximum.
Review by Thom
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