It is truly remarkable how quickly trends now come and go in the capricious world of indie music. Three years ago, Franz Ferdinand were the NME’s band du jour. In 2005 it was Bloc Party’s turn, while last year Arctic Monkeys were the new kids in town. Twelve months later, we’ve got not one but two concerts full of Next Big Things. By comparison, my own adolescence, when I squeezed a good four or five years out of following the careers of Blur, Pulp and Suede, seems like an entire age.
Anyway, after the wiry, angular guitar-pop of Mumm-ra and The Cramps-style schlocky horror show of, er, The Horrors, the atmosphere really reaches fever pitch in anticipation of The View’s arrival. With a number one album and a top five single in the UK under their belts, the Dundee rockers are definitely the group most of the audience are here to see, and if the bill was being put together right now they would undoubtedly be headlining the tour. Their highly energetic brand of abrasive garage rock is very reminiscent of their patron Pete Doherty’s old band The Libertines, as well as Detroit-based practitioners of the genre like The Von Bondies, The Detroit Cobras and The Soledad Brothers.
The View also know how to put on a crowd-pleasing show – at one point the guitarist climbs up on the speakers and pulls a series of iconic guitar poses a la Slash, while he later hangs a pair of knickers that are tossed on stage from his mic stand, and drapes an Irish flag over his amp. No wonder the crowd chant “The View are on fire!” throughout. While they’ve undeniably won over the crowd in a big way, I have to admit to finding their sound a bit one-note and lacking in imagination.
Thank God then for The Automatic, who arrive to nowhere near the same reception but eventually steal the night thanks to the sheer energy and vigour of their performance. They aren’t going to let anyone get in the way of putting on a barnstorming show – not least the fan who gets up on stage to dance, only to be lamped by the group’s keyboard player, Alex “Rocky Balboa” Pennie, and hurled into the arms of security. Highlights of their pulsating set of dance-rock include ‘Seriously… I Hate You Guys’ (with its catchy chorus of “That’s the happiest you’ve looked all day”), the rapturously received ‘Monster’ and an absolutely cracking cover of Talking Heads’ ‘Life During Wartime’.
It may well be their fate to end up on some future compilation entitled The Classic Sounds of January 2007, but, for tonight at least, The Automatic are indie rock’s (ahem) undisputed heavyweight champions.
View pictures of the night!