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Mulligan Presents Vs. Rock ‘n’ Zoo 31.3.07
East London, where everyone has £100 haircuts and the favourite pas-time is to out-cool everyone else. But in the middle of Shoreditch, there is a little sanctuary where, who you see on stage is still more important than to be seen in the crowd.
The Old
Blue Last, a cosy two floor corner pub on Great Eastern Street, is the place to be for London’s Indie crowd these days. Being an
insider tip at first, the “Mulligan Presents” night on Saturday’s has become
one of the most popular live music nights when it comes to seeing new talents.
One might even spot the odd celebrity in the crowd, like Amy Winehouse or the
guys from The Horrors, who are regulars when in town. And the best thing is,
the whole night is free!
Tonight is
a special night at Mulligan Presents. Together with the Rock ‘n’ Zoo club night
from Paris, a kind of band exchange had been arranged, with the most popular bands
from both clubs playing tonight.
The first
band to take the stage is Coco
from Paris. With band members looking like French librarians rather than
musicians, the sound of the first son g is a bit of a surprise: A dramatic
pre-recorded intro, followed by an electronic sound that has clearly been
influenced by Britain’s New Rave scene, English lyrics and a keyboard player
who seems to have the ambition to replace Penny in The Automatic, considering
his stage antics. But after this rather promising start, the set gets more and
more confusing. There is no point denying that this five-piece has talent and
potential, but they should decide on what style of music they are actually
making. From electro to American college rock everything is present and sadly,
instead of showing off their diversity through thus, their show just seems
highly unsystematic. Having just released an EP with the title “Great and
Awful”, I think only time will tell if they are either one or the other.
Already
having found a direction, Intervurt from London seem to be on their way to the top.
After being taken on by The Killer’s manager, the first band to represent London that night are whispered to be the
next big thing. Their ecstatic (and quite young) followers definitely seem to
think so, welcoming the band on stage with a deafening cheer. Right from the
start it is clear that they’re not only working with The Killer’s management
but are also strongly influenced by the combo from Las Vegas. With bombast rock, 80s keyboard
sounds and big gesturing from the front man, they sure know how to get their
crowd going. But already after a couple of songs their set gets quite
repetitive. They are great at playing big songs but seem to be unable to create
anything else. It doesn’t really help that they are playing a small East London club like they are at Wembley. Paul
O’Keefe constantly spreading his arms, grabbing his chest, and a projection of
little videos onto the wall behind them accompanying their songs. Most of the
films containing footage of previous performances and one can’t shake the
feeling that in their minds they are already 5 years ahead in their career.
Their sound is good and their chances to be the next big thing are high, but
before that actually happens, they should get a grip…
When
Intervurt leaves the stage, their followers leave the club as well. Which is
not only unfortunate for the next band on the bill but also for the
Intervurt-fans since they are missing out on one of the more interesting new
bands from the London Indie scene, The Fay Wrays. Having just recently gone
from a five-piece to a four-piece and acquiring a new drummer, the Fay Wrays
seem to have found their perfect line-up now. Fronted by the highky charismatic
Lucie Barat (Carl’s sister), they are recording their first album in May,
working with Mark Plati and Tom McJay, who have been working with the likes of
David Bowie and The Cure before.
And seeing
them on stage with the new line-up, one can see the change was for the better.
With Lucie and guitarist Cammy already mentioning before the gig that they now
can write the songs they always wanted to, it is clear that the band seem to be
finally able to show off their whole range of sounds. The set is made up mostly
of new material, that has been presented live for the first time at a concert
in Paris in February. The new songs are
energetic and powerful, the sound a perfect base for Lucie’s strong lyrics.
When asked
about the audience in Paris compared to the London crowd, the band answered that the
Parisians are not as non-chalont about live music because Paris is not saturated with bands.
According to Lucie, here people have to be told by someone they respect that
you’re a respectable band. Well, let’s go and spread the word, I say!
The last
band for the night, Neimo, is another exchange from the Rock ‘n’ Zoo crowd.
Singer Bruno Alexander describes their sound as a mixture between Rock ‘n’ Roll
and New Wave, using a synth-bass and n old drum machine to create their sound.
But he also adds that in order to understand their sound, one has to see them
live. And from the feel of it, he’s right.
Having
played together for about 4 years now, the band delivers a well rehearsed
performance without being unoriginal. Bruno has the right rock star attitude
without seeming pretentious and knows hot to win over the crowd very fast.
Singing in English without the slightest hint of a French accent, an energy
driven sound and performance, they soon have the crowd dancing like crazy.
Their songs have a lot of the classic Indie elements but are still innovative/
“Hot Girl” definitely screams “potential hit”.
This is not
their first tour in the UK but they are always excited to play
in Britain. Unlike The Fay Wrays, they think the British
audience is more enthusiastic than the crowd in Paris. But Bruno suspects that the
audience always reacts differently to a band from abroad since it’s something
exotic.
They will
have to chance to test this theory further when they head to the States by the
end of April. They will shoot their new video in New York and playa short series of gigs
there, in venues including Arlene’s Groceries and Snitch. Let’s hope their
welcome will be just as warm as the one they got here in London.
If you are
interested in the Mulligan Presents nights or are a new band who wants to try
their luck on stage, go and visit their Myspace under http://www.myspace.com/multipleauralgasm
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