Babyshambles, The Courteeners & Beggars @ Carling Brixton Academy- 11/02/08
On Sunday, my friend Mike (of Albion To Arcadia) will be celebrating his 18th birthday. A couple of days ago, to celebrate this event, we went to see Babyshambles, The Courteeners & Beggars at the Carling Brixton Academy in an NME Awards show. These were three completely different, varying acts, and for the purpose of this review I'm going to split them up. This was not an ordinary gig- first of all, it lasted an ache-inducing 5 hours. At 6 PM yesterday evening, a legion of indie kids outfitted in a combination of skinny jeans, leather jackets and day-glo t-shirts descended on Brixton, and 'normal' people like myself (outfitted in a nice, but plain, Esprit jumper and 'phat' jeans) felt a little bit out of place. And so the fun began...
Beggars
The doors opened at 6, and after an hour's wait, the first act, Beggars, came on. An interesting support act, they were really good, but not always interested. Its a little bit disconcerting that they seem to have it all worked out already, but they had the edginess and potential to get the crowd going. Their drummer was ace and the music worked as an openert- there were a couple of good songs, some great harmonies and a generally solid set. If you want to check out their Myspace, here it is...
The Courteeners
The boys from Manchester did some impressive work convincing me that their album might be pretty good after all. Let me just clear things up, though- they wont change music. Their first album will be solid, from the tracks we heard, and their live act will get better and better. The crowd were up for it, and there were a handful of moments where it all clicked, most obviously on the familiar songs such as 'Acrylic' and 'Cavorting', the former inexplicably left off the tracklisting for their new album, 'St. Jude', out April 7. I was surprised to see that Liam Fray had very little of his trademark swagger on show, repeatedly thanking the crowd for 'this amazing chance'. Your welcome... Check out their website to listen to a couple of tracks.
The Courteeners- Acrylic
Babyshambles
Babyshambles were the biggest surprise of the evening, for me at least. I have always been quick to belittle Pete Doherty for his part in the break up of The Libertines, his drug problems and the fact that he cant sing. Last year, I got really bored of seeing his name in the tabloids every day, but his popularity dipped for a few months and he has now returned, a seemingly different person. This isn't the Pete Doherty that embarrassed himself on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross- with the aid of a really solid backing band, Pete put on a great show, and his voice was great. The mosh-pit was ridiculously good fun- one of the best I've been in- with a nice atmosphere and a great venue- the sloped floor is a great idea, apart from everything rolls to the front, including beers, dropped phones and pretty much anything else going.
Their set was a good length, with a nice mix between the heavier songs and the slower tracks. They played 'Delivery about two tracks in, which suprised me, and although I didn't know any of the songs there was still that sense of familiarity. The band were really chilled out onstage, only pausing occasionally to make sure that no-one was getting crushed in the pit. Closing their three track encore with chaotic fan favourite 'Fuck Forever', the set was a great end to a brilliant gig. I've been won over by Babyshambles, and the support acts were great. All in all, well worth it.
Babyshambles- Delivery
If anyone reading this was at the gig, leave a comment. How did you find it? Good time, yeah? Check out this video of 'Fuck Forever'.
Beggars
The doors opened at 6, and after an hour's wait, the first act, Beggars, came on. An interesting support act, they were really good, but not always interested. Its a little bit disconcerting that they seem to have it all worked out already, but they had the edginess and potential to get the crowd going. Their drummer was ace and the music worked as an openert- there were a couple of good songs, some great harmonies and a generally solid set. If you want to check out their Myspace, here it is...
The Courteeners
The boys from Manchester did some impressive work convincing me that their album might be pretty good after all. Let me just clear things up, though- they wont change music. Their first album will be solid, from the tracks we heard, and their live act will get better and better. The crowd were up for it, and there were a handful of moments where it all clicked, most obviously on the familiar songs such as 'Acrylic' and 'Cavorting', the former inexplicably left off the tracklisting for their new album, 'St. Jude', out April 7. I was surprised to see that Liam Fray had very little of his trademark swagger on show, repeatedly thanking the crowd for 'this amazing chance'. Your welcome... Check out their website to listen to a couple of tracks. The Courteeners- Acrylic
Babyshambles
Babyshambles were the biggest surprise of the evening, for me at least. I have always been quick to belittle Pete Doherty for his part in the break up of The Libertines, his drug problems and the fact that he cant sing. Last year, I got really bored of seeing his name in the tabloids every day, but his popularity dipped for a few months and he has now returned, a seemingly different person. This isn't the Pete Doherty that embarrassed himself on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross- with the aid of a really solid backing band, Pete put on a great show, and his voice was great. The mosh-pit was ridiculously good fun- one of the best I've been in- with a nice atmosphere and a great venue- the sloped floor is a great idea, apart from everything rolls to the front, including beers, dropped phones and pretty much anything else going.Their set was a good length, with a nice mix between the heavier songs and the slower tracks. They played 'Delivery about two tracks in, which suprised me, and although I didn't know any of the songs there was still that sense of familiarity. The band were really chilled out onstage, only pausing occasionally to make sure that no-one was getting crushed in the pit. Closing their three track encore with chaotic fan favourite 'Fuck Forever', the set was a great end to a brilliant gig. I've been won over by Babyshambles, and the support acts were great. All in all, well worth it.
Babyshambles- Delivery
If anyone reading this was at the gig, leave a comment. How did you find it? Good time, yeah? Check out this video of 'Fuck Forever'.
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