The saying goes that if everyone in China was to jump at the same time our planet would be jilted out of orbit into deep space. This theorem can be extended to fans of the PIGEON DETECTIVES when crammed en masse into the Manchester Apollo.
Northern charm, skinny jeans and floppy hair were on the menu for this evening’s gig, and the Leeds-based quintet did not disappoint, leading a full frontal sonic assault where resistance was futile. “Pigeon mania” grasped the fans, young ladies hurled their knickers at the band, fans were crowd surfing with wild abandon, and the 16-year-old who was sat next to this writer during the gig spent the evening screaming: “You guys are SOOOOOOOO HOT! Argh!”
Opening with their new single “Emergency”, the band whirled the crowd into a bouncing frenzy which refused to let up all night. As it should be. Singer Matt Bowman bounced across the stage as if he had fireworks lodged up his backside, swinging the microphone like a lasso, and generally creating mayhem – all without missing a note. Madonna has nothing on this guy. Remarkable, given that he’d sustained a leg injury after leaping with wild abandon from a pile of speakers during the recent One Big Weekend festival in Ireland.
“OHMIGOSHICAN’TBELIEVEI’MHERE!!!!” Shrieked one young music fan sat behind us. “I love Indie music!!! I love the Kaiser Chiefs!!! and I LOVE THE PIGEON DETECTIVES, YEAH!!!” - cue screams. There was a helluva lot of unbounded enthusiasm bouncing off the walls, the mosh pit was a throbbing mass of oscillating teenagers, the entire venue was transformed into a gigantic musical space-hopper.
The Pigeon Detectives crashed landed into the national consciousness in 2006 after supporting Dirty Pretty Things and the Kaiser Chiefs. Renowned for their exhilarating performances and tunes with more hooks than a strip of Velcro, they became darlings of the NME after playing the Radio 1 stage at T in the Park 2007, subsequently taking the festival, and then the nation by storm.
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Recorded tracks from the Pigeon Detectives simply do not do this band justice. Their performances are second to none, but this is what we expect from a band that bases its pulling power on insanely good gigs, the requisite angular Nu-Wave noises, and chanting choruses that work as much on the football terraces as well as the dance floor.
But at the end of the day, there’s nothing new about their sound, even on their second album “Emergency”. Their sound is a predictable indie mush – almost as if The Strokes took The Libertines on a date, plied them with alcohol and then took them home – The Pigeon Detectives is the resulting lovechild, possibly with ADHD.
People can argue that punters have had enough of the “NME-lad-band” format – wear black, think skinny, play guitar. But who cares? The fans certainly don’t. And it’s not as if the band gives a toss, they’re one of the best live indie bands around and they know it. Onlookers left the performance breathless, with shaky knees, and in no doubt that 2008 will be the Year of the Pigeon.
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