With the shock news of John Peel’s death still sinking in, W&H would like to think it was appropriate that we should be spending that evening with The Others. John Peel was always the champion of the obscure, the outsider, the underdog and without him much of the music that sets our world on fire would never have reached our ears. There is no doubt in this writers mind that he would have loved tonight.
We reach Cargo in time to catch the last three songs from THE PADDINGTONS. Often cited as one of the leading lights of whatever they’re calling this new London scene this week (although they’re actually from Hull), they come across with the same shambolic presentation that the Libertines have seemingly made their own, they have also seen fit to borrow from the same band sonically as well. Musically it works quite nicely but the lead singer Tom makes an awful fist of the vocals, lending a punkier interpretation over the more restrained new wave action from the rest of the band. This grates and ultimately they come across as limited in ideas and approach.
AGENT BLUE, however, make The Paddingtons seem like visionaries. With The Others back drop of ver kids fighting the police being beamed behind them the five members of the band turn in a display of clichéd punk posturing. Both the bass player and guitarist (although particularly the guitarist) have ripped their moves straight from the Sid Vicious school of posing, all snarled lips and blank expressions. This reaches it’s zenith when an altercation between the two, that seems to be ridiculously stage managed, results in them pushing and shoving each other as if about to come to blows. It reaches it’s wonderful conclusion when a member of the audience throws an empty beer can onto the stage that hits the guitarist in the face. As he turns to find the culprit he’s met with a barrage of abuse from the crowd. Twat.
This clichéd posturing is a shame because Agent Blue make a decent racket. Although unlikely to change anyone’s world and hardly breaking new ground, they dish out a sneering brand of punk epitomised by their next single ‘Crossbreed’. They also dedicate a song to John Peel (as do the other two bands tonight).Worth investigating their tunes, they’d be a half decent band if they dropped the play school punk attitude.
Whilst waiting for THE OTHERS, W&H will admit to the sharpening of their critical claws. The night seems destined to re-hash old ideas and although the vast majority of the audience weren’t old enough for punk the first time round (including this writer I’d like to point out) we are familiar with it’s impact and stereotypes. The world n 1977 was a very different place and in 2004 it’s going to take a bit more than a mock fight and three chords to really make an impact. That was before we encountered The Others. W&H gave a favourable review to their recent single ‘Stan Bowles’ but it’s not until you catch them live that you will realise what an incendiary band these lot are.
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The first signs aren’t great. The bass player, Jon, looks like Robert Smith (and I don’t mean back in the day, he looks like Robert Smith does now) and guitarist James does a passable impression of Bonehead formerly of Oasis. We would hazard a guess that neither of these two men or drummer Martin are likely to see their 30th birthdays again. But in lead singer Dominic Masters they have a secret weapon. This man was born to be a star. He exudes charisma and his connection with the crowd (the infamous 853 Kamikaze Stage Diving Division) is unlike any other band we’ve ever seen. The boundaries between band and crowd are blurred to the point of vanishing. If it’s not the crowd on stage then Dominic is off into the audience. There is a constant stream of stage divers and the other bands watching from the wings get in on the act as well. Security look as though they have never seen the like before and are constantly employed dragging bodies off of the stage. It is also worth pointing out that the invaders are split almost 50/50 boys and girls.
Musically they are a lot tighter than their records would suggest, dishing out a rough and ready amalgamation of punk rhetoric, slashing riffs and pummelling bass they are surprisingly melodic without losing their rough hewn charm. Their whole set is a highlight but obviously the familiarity of ‘Stan Bowles’ and ‘This is for the Poor’ set them apart. The latter is played last and prompts a full scale stage invasion including James passing his guitar to a member of one of the other bands so he can shout, jump and sing along unhindered. It’s beautiful chaos and they still find time to announce another of their guerrilla gigs (Friday 5pm, 29th Oct, Rough Trade, Covent Garden if you’re interested). W&H are blown away. The NME has run three pages on them this morning and we can see why. The Others are without doubt the most exciting new live band we have seen this year (or just about any other year). Greatness beckons and I’m sure John Peel would be smiling down on them tonight. Go see, go see, go see.
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