les savy fav, future of THE left, los campesinos!

It’s hard not to love Los Campesinos!. Their ramshackle, xylophone-augmented indie pop may be tarred with the “twee” brush, but they are the closest thing to punk rock we will see tonight. Frontman Gareth certainly isn’t afraid of biting the hand that feeds, either, mumbling as he does about “misogyny in the mainstream music press”, and sporting an endearingly rubbish haircut which is as far from the well-groomed youngsters in this evening’s intermittent Shockwaves blipverts as imaginable. Go Gareth! The bass player in “noise-rockers” Future of the Left, also from Cardiff, appears wearing a pink Slits t-shirt. “I am not wearing this t-shirt for a bet,” he helpfully tells us. Whoa! No need to explain yourself, chum – this is Swinging London Town. Your correspondent came out this evening in a floor-length ballgown, wellies and a sombrero, and nobody on the bus batted an eyelid. Despite practically being veterans of the gig circuit, there’s something very slightly sixth-form about FOTL’s cocky but vaguely awkward stage presence. Still, they make an enjoyable racket, and any band whose lyrics reference Ghostbusters is alright with us. Controversially, Les Savy Fav are not from Cardiff but New York City. Now, we know that lots of people get very excited by their arty post-punk. To be honest, though, we seem to hear a lot of this kind of thing from the US of A – but unlike many of their Stateside colleagues, they know how to put on a show. Tonight they run through a set of highlights, probably, from their lengthy career, plus a note-perfect cover of ‘Debaser’ for good measure. The main entertainment, however, is the highjinks of singer Tim Harrington, who begins the gig in mask and knee-high boots, and finishes it in a red lamé jacket and matching leggings. At one point he jumps into the crowd and starts handing out party horns for the purpose of accompaniment. It certainly knocks a pink t-shirt into a cocked hat, eh, readers?