LIVE REVIEW: The Futureheads, Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms (Date: 05.03.08)

Being dropped from a label is something many of us can only empathise with. Perhaps as gutting as your mum throwing you down the stairs, but apparently not. According to reports The Futureheads have never felt so creatively free since splitting with Warner. It maybe a pushy maternal instinct to see your creation to thrive but to cut them loose when the second album proves a commercial miss is a bit much. Kicking shit into the eyes of the majors, they’re now doing it their way. This tour, the album, ‘The Beginning of the Twist’ are the fires whence this phoenix rose.

Ever confident and holding absolute belief in their new mission, Sunderland’s favourite sons storm through ‘A to B’, ‘Area’ and more. Turn to a friend, chat to a neighbour and you’ve already missed the opening numbers. The playful aggression nurtured at Fantastic Plastic Records suddenly seems a lot more belligerent tonight as mettle is tested. Despite this serious rites of passage, Barry and Ross maintain a mischievous mood demanding people dance as if at the school disco just as ‘Skip to the End’ explodes from the setlist. Barry’s new hair, a throwback to a This Is England age, and raged filled expressions stand juxtaposed to his request for everyone to sing along mimicking the call of the seagull.

The effort in making ‘Stupid and Shallow' and ‘Meantime’ as dance-able as humanely possible has been used to demonstrate growth in the band with new songs reflecting a maturity that’s not all pretense and pomp; that is if you overlook the ballroom timing of the future hits. Ross announces proudly: “The next one starts in waltz time”, the title track of ‘This Is Not the World’ that is. You’d be forgiven for thinking the boys are catering for the Strictly Come Dancing audience as the last song started in tango time. The current single and the ‘Man Ray’ encore indicate that they’re definitely not turning into pounces as the din peaks at stadium rock anthem levels.

There’s a natural pause in the ‘Man Ray’ lyrics while the music ticks over mercilessly. The four Futureheads each graciously thank the crowd for dancing the school disco salsa to which a roar silences the instrumental din to reassure the band that while 679 Recordings may have deserted them their fans certainly won’t.

Words: Dean Samways

Photo: Dean Samways

LIVE REVIEW: The Go! Team, Southampton University Students' Union (Date: 24.02.08)

How the fuck do they do it? How does Ninja stay so ecstatic, so enthusiastic, so hyperactive through entire gigs? Then there’s the high-legged, arm-flailing dances. Tonight the hysteria isn’t born in the crowd; it streams from the stage and infects the hip congregation as they feed on the energy. The Go! Team never seem to tire and, on top of this, each member of the Brighton crew possesses an enamel-rotting sweet smile that’s going to either make you sick or envious. The fun starts now.

Tonight Ninja’s squeezed into a tiny green top and the most fashionable black bin liner skirt but she doesn’t stay still long enough for you to appreciate it. Before long she’s running on the spot, windmilling and bellowing at the peak of every leap. Beyond Sam, Jamie and head-honcho Ian, the wandering guitarists who dodge and weaver around the little rapping dynamo, the pace of the evening is blisteringly hammered out.

The two drum kits hypnotize but as you watch and listen you’ve got to ask whether or not they add anything musically. Thankfully Chi steps out from her skins to sing the most adorable ditty as an interlude while Ninja disappears for a costume change. Either side of this uncharacteristically subtle intermission the band rage between tracks that stretch between Super Furry Animals homage to a driving soundtrack arranged to throw hulking Cadillacs into cardboard boxes for no particular reason.

‘Grip Like A Vice’ may be a skip-rope anthem suited and booted in leg warmers and faded retro vests, but ‘The Power Is On’ is the coolest playground power track with hints of action figure fights and sandbox skirmishes. The tempo is so rampant you’d think they’d need a sit down but a sip of water and they’re back on it. ‘Huddle Formation’, ‘Bottle Rocket’ and ‘Ladyflash’ are already Go! Team classics, vintage with their Grandmaster Flash-era beats.

Last year’s Proof Of Youth album has consolidated the band’s mainstream status. Tonight’s hearty versions of ‘Titanic Vandalism’, ‘The Wrath of Marcie’ and ‘Doing It Right’ sound like themes from programmes that give kids mini-scramblers to race up and down slagheaps. Amazing! This is their beauty: the electroclash of retro on retro, white pop and black rap, producing a universal party sound. The fusion’s so perfect tonight that I’m not sure if I want to go home and play with Transformers or continue my dissertation. What year is it again?

Words: Dean Samways

Photo: Dean Samways