GIG REVIEW: The Winter Rage Out
- Posted on December 18, 2007 2:36 PM
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The Winter Rage Out
Canvas, Thursday 13th December.
Review By Holly Groom
They say you should never turn down a free supper and I've always been a sticker for doing what I'm told, so when Seatwave offered me a pass to the rage out in winter with free food, a free bar and even free flipping cloakroom tickets, I wasn't going to say no - especially when The Young Knives were headlining the night.
The Rage Out proposed to be 'gigging for grown ups' and, oh my, does it ever do what it says on the tin? There is a kind of reverse snobbery in the dress code to ensure no one gets stuck looking like a boring city boy all night (suits and chinos are a no-no and a 're-dress' area is kindly provided by firetrap for those of us partying straight from the office.) The night is one of expert organisation with ever-friendly staff, gorgeous food and a wide-ranging mix of bands and DJ's. It really is a rather grown up affair but it is still a rock gig (a very posh one mind) so lets get on to the music.
The Bishops look brilliant - like a creepy Vaudeville stage act with matching, spooky, pale faces and skinny suits. That’s a compliment by the way - I wish more modern bands would take a few style hints from the 1920's.
Musically they sound like a sort of rock and roll version of the Everly Brothers. Again, that's no bad thing. If The Bishops risk leaning a little further in the unusual direction they are going, they could really stand out against their endlessly multiplying, twiggy-legged contemporaries.
Rosie Oddie, similarly, could risk being written off as another 'new' Nash or Allen (note the Lily-esque, foot-in-the-door parent) but, actually, there might be a bit more to her than that. True, no song screamed Blatant Massive Hit like the work of her predecessors has done, but there was something in her psychedelic, ramshackle performance that was reminiscent of the slow burning, grass roots popularity of the Mystery Jets or Kimya Dawson. And with all that glitter and paint and big hair she looks more like ultra-hip, leftfield chanteuse Natasha Khan than any main stream pop star - one to watch I reckon.
A.human are awful. It was inhuman to make decent paying adults watch them. They oozed the kind of smug twattery and pretension that should only be seen by those who do show-off things like sell out Wembley or the O2 arena, not those who play sub-standard dance-rock mulch to the small room at Canvas. Thank god for the free bar.
The Young Knives were, like always, a variety show of spiky, post-punk pop songs, cutting inter-sibling sarcasm and surreal, hilarious comedy. However, Rock ‘n’ Roll hell raisers they are not. Completely unselfconscious and painfully geeky, they personify Jarvis Cocker's idea that, one day, the nerds will use their superior intelligence to get their own back on the in-crowd. They don’t posture in Topshop knitwear and live in a 'creative squat' in hackney, adopting the mannerisms of outcasts whilst actually having loads of mates who think they're cool. These boys are the real thing. Overweight, well-spoken and hailing from Ashby-De-La-Zouch - the home of ubergeek, Adrian Mole - it seems unlikely that they could produce the yelping, manic Indie hits that make up the hugely popular 'Voices of Animals and Men', let alone perform them live with the kind of frenzied energy that characterises their shows. Their songs are, as ever, interspersed with bickering and piss-taking and this, combined with the frenzied energy of the band members, is what makes the Young Knives such stand out performers.
I wish I could write more about the Young Knives set but, unfortunately, the free bar made everything after this a little bit hazy. I can tell you, however, that if you like you nights out faultlessly organised and mastered by professionals then the Rage Out is the package for you. Although it might hurt to pay over a hundred quid in advance for a ticket, you'll see the logic when you get inside and don’t have to think about where you put your money or if you'll be able to find a cab home - Rage out take care of all that, leaving you to shed your work gear and abuse their hospitality. Not such a grown up gig after all then.
Read our interview with the Young Knives.
For Young Knives and other gig tickets, check out Seatwave's listings.
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