This was the first London show by both of these new young acts, who have names that are difficult to google, which is why I have no background info whatsoever about Mel D apart from the fact she has a few songs on Youtube, no Idea where she comes from, but she did tell us that it was her first London show ever, several times during the parts of her set I saw.
I arrived just as she was introducing her cover of the Britney Spears hit Oops I Did It Again as the first song she learned how to play when she was about 9 years old, she didn't have a clue what the lyrics were about, Her version played solo was cool with her vocals sounding a little bit Bjork like.
Where Do You Look When It Hurts was frail in a good way and she reminded me a bit of early Michelle Shocked but without looking like a deer caught in the headlights. She sang A Little Bit Of Love acapella and it had plenty of emotion in it. She then told us how the next song is on her new album that will be coming out in the next year or so and was recorded in Paris, which was also the name for this song about a brief love affair that went totally wrong.
She then closed her set with Lets Bring The Witches Back that was really very cool, when she found her effects pedals it went good and witchy on us, before she finished the song by singing the chorus first with her guitar then acapella while encouraging the audience to join in, as she left the stage still signing walking through the crowd who were singing with her, as she walked out of the room, a very cool way to end a pretty decent set.
After the break it was time for Delivery's first ever London show, having come all the way from Melbourne Australia, they were greeted by a packed room that was far better than when The Celibate Rifles played there first London show to 5 or 6 of us at Dingwall's way back when. Delivery are a 5 piece band who are touring to promote the bands debut album Forever Giving Handshakes that comes out on 19th May. Bass Player Rebecca Allan explained to me before they went on that they had a bit of an ordeal flying over, as the first flight they took had to turn back and they arrived in England a day later than scheduled.
They opened to the packed room by playing Personal Effects that was super bouncy garage punk pop with twin vocals from Rebecca Allan and Lisa Rashleigh that seemed to be about the shame of betrayal but it was so upbeat sounding they had obviously got over it.
Digging The Hole was introduced as being a new song, but as they are still a new band all the songs are new really, as this flew by we wondered exactly what they had missed, it wasn't any notes as they sounded super tight as they then went into Floored that was the first song that James Lynch, I think it was, switched to Synth and lead vocals, his vocals sounded angrier and the synths added a more exploratory edge to the punk pop.
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The songs were all good and speedy The Explainer being no exception as the doubts they had were being explained away. No More Homes has a good taught political edge to it as they wonder why we can't build enough homes to house everyone.
The Complex had the guitars meshing together and flying at us as they explained how they felt washed up inside, surely not they are too young to be washed up already.
They started joking between songs that they were playing a local song for every stop on the tour and wondered if they should play London Calling or London Bridge, the crowd seemed to want London Calling more, after the first few bars of the intro it quickly changed into Dead Lines that took us through the fire or whatever my messy notes say, as Rebecca and Lisa's vocals rammed the message home the room seemed very happy.
What For sounded like the sort of song that's perfect with its chant along chorus to be sung in a huge venue with everyone on board with them, this was riotous good fun.
By way of an intro to Lifetimer we heard that the song is about Sam Harding's car, that is his generations equivalent to a Dodge Veg-O-Matic, only this chariot of his keeps on running as Sam told us all about his car.
Baader Meinhof had some swirling synth as they looked deep into the Baader Meinhof phenomenon of Frequency illusion, rather than the terrorist organization most other Baader Meinhof songs are about, but then they are too young to remember what it was like when Astrid Proll and the gang were in full effect, as they brought the set to a close repeatedly telling us about the Thing That Holds It Up it was clear they had gone down a storm, with none of the thunder of the storm outside.
After a good bit of chanting one more song they gave in and behaved like a band on a mission, to make sure that as a band they are a Poor to Middling Moneymaking Enterprise, when on the face of this performance they should in fact be a sure fire bet to do very well indeed, catch Delivery now while they are still playing small venues.
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