Rascals fans are staging a sit-down protest. Well, not really - but there’s so much space available at Whelan’s half-an-hour before the trio make their Irish debut, that many impatient punters have decided to plonk themselves onto the floor in anticipation of their arrival.
Luckily, by the time The Band Formerly Known As The Little Flames take to the stage, the sparse crowd has mutated into a much more voluminous unit, and lead Rascal Miles Kane looks ever so pleased to be here.
It’s obvious that The Rascals, who have yet to release their debut album, are the recipients of a healthy dose of Last Of The Shadow Puppets-generated curiosity. That said, Kane and his two cohorts – drummer Greg Mighall and bassist Joe Edwards – demonstrate over the course of their thirteen-song set that they’re more than capable of holding their own when it comes to resourcefulness.
Album tracks ‘Ratcatcher’, ‘Bond Girl’, ‘The Freakbeat Phantom’ and ‘Out of Dreams’ are all enthusiastically received, and Kane’s frequent dramatic, Shadows-esque guitar flourishes suggest that the 21-year-old had more of a hand in his-side project’s sound than most have given him credit for.
It’s a short set – well under an hour – but the young Scousers are absolved of their penchant for brevity, simply because they send their audience home satisfied. Whether Kane casts a similarly forgiving eye over the bloke at the front wearing an Arctic Monkeys t-shirt is another matter entirely.