artrocker festival: night five

Initially, just the Bar Academy Room is open, meaning that the audience for openers LO FI CULTURE SCENE is packed and rapt. The band are incredibly accomplished despite their young age, and songs like ‘Playdough’ and ‘Take It Or Leave It’ suggest enormous potential with a Bloc Party influence. The biggest compliment that can be paid to this band is that in the end their age is irrelevant: they are simply one of the best opening acts I have seen in a long time. The opening of the main room offers a chance to mosh along to the powerful live performance of POPULAR WORKSHOP, whose style of interspersing growls and shrieks suggests an infatuation with the terrific, short-lived Mclusky, - a point further hammered home by the almost spoken word vocal of ’X-Rays Confidential’. Much-lauded youngsters BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB take to the main stage next, displaying a more reserved, yet no less emphatic musical vision. While they share some similarities with Lo-Fi Culture Club, they also possess a secret weapon in singer Jack Steadman’s wilfully controlled yet melodic vocals. The band are joined on stage by a mass of friends for the last song, putting the crowd in great spirits for the arrival of tonight’s headliners GOOD SHOES. Starting with a new song is a confident move, but things really move up a few gears as the chords to ‘The Photos On My Wall’ kick in, and a flurry of plastic glasses spray beer over the stage. ‘Never Meant To Hurt You’ swiftly follows, reminding us of the quality of song-writing on debut album ‘Think Before You Speak’. That album’s perky three-minute nuggets now sound like the beginnings of a greatest hits set. The middle of the performance sees a bit of a lull, induced by some of the more laid-back tracks from the bands’ debut, as well as a lack of interaction and stage presence. However, the final treble-header of ‘We Are Not The Same, ‘Morden’ and ‘All In My Head’ cannot really fail - and ensure that the crowd head out into the Islington night with the vigour of youth coursing through their veins. Even the oldies like yours truly. EXPLORE THE ARTROCKER FESTIVAL 2008! FOLLOW THESE LINKS: NIGHT ONE NIGHT TWO NIGHT FOUR