NME Indie Rock Tour at the Octagon, Sheffield, 11th February

Take a long hard look at the picture above. It is, no less a picture of nu Goths (yes I did just write that) The Horrors who, for better or worse, were the main appeal of tonight’s gig. You can tell purely on the amount of fans wandering around the Octagon dressed in tight waistcoats, skinny trousers and laughable shoes. They are of course looking a little more glum than usual (if that’s possible) on the basis that their heroes have cancelled due to Coffin Joe’s bronchitis (its his real name, I swear.)

Yet as Mumm-Ra enter the stage with a happy go lucky attitude it’s a relief to lift the shadow of the Horrors and enjoy the friendly atmosphere. It’s a shame Mumm-Ra’s music isn’t more uplifting, as many of their songs sound too generic but what they do create is safe entertainment. With their split harmonies at times they’re reminiscent of the Mystery Jets, but without the appeal of the latter’s kookish charms they are rather stale.

However the opposite can be said for the next band as chants of “The View are on fire!” take over and a stampede of fans suddenly appear as if from nowhere. As the band stumble on stage to AC/DC’s ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top’ drinks are already abound as they launch into ‘Wasted Little DJs’ complete with two girls emerging from backstage taking over lead vocals. You can’t tell a word which is said onstage and lead singer Kyle is dressed in a hilarious yellow rain coat but somehow this adds to the band’s performance. They are not trying to be funny yet their silly movements are one of the highlights of the night, and with The View currently number 2 in the charts I’m sure there are plenty of audience members here waiting to see if the country’s new biggest band can stand up to the hype live. Yet as they launch into ‘Same Jeans’ allowing the crowd to finish the lyrics its obvious The View are indeed on fire.

So it comes as no surprise that the crowd spreads a little for The Automatic. Having not released a single in months they have a hard act to follow, especially when most of the audience members are outside still recovering from The View’s sweat pit. So as Pennie and co enter the stage with their usual flux of screaming, yelping and dangerous behaviour the crowd suddenly regain consciousness, and yet again it is Pennie who provides all the onstage entertainment you could ask for. Jumping around like a rabbit on speed it is he who addresses the crowd and provides all audience participation. Also, after beating up an audience member during this tour, the crowd are transfixed on what he will do next. He even has two microphones for Christ sake! While one appears to be only used for actually singing the other is used to trawl every corner of the stage as the rest of the band try desperately to hold it together. However now it appears the other members know how to handle a live performance. Whereas before they all looked slightly uncomfortable as Pennie screamed, sweated and jumped onstage, now they provide a strong backbone to his flaky attitude forming together as a band rather than individuals.

With last year’s NME Tour providing one of the best line ups in recent years (Arctic Monkeys, We Are Scientists, Maximo Park) it was destined this year’s would be a downfall. With the split from indie to rave also, this tour has been lucky enough to have a boost on the recent success of The View, yet year in, year out the NME Tours always come up trumps on an enthusiastic audience. With The View and The Automatic overstepping expectations it was a pleasant surprise to find the initial problems with the tour have been ironed out to display the best upcoming talent, making the few Horrors fans in the audience feel a little ashamed of their black locks.


http://www.myspace.com/thehorrors
http://www.myspace.com/mummra
http://www.myspace.com/dryburgh (The View)
http://www.myspace.com/theautomatic