Vice magazine are cooler than you. And me. In fact, reading the latest issue today i became quite disheartened at my lack of pop culture knowledge. It aint just Vice though, seems like every album/gig/whatever review i read these days has to contain at least two references to obscure artists that i've never heard of. Or maybe i just don't pay attention.
Having said that, the Vice boys and girls can put on a damn good show. The venue was the Faversham, bang in the middle of student-town, Leeds. Having never been before, i was wondering whether to expect a dirty underground club or something pretentiously shiny. Thankfully the Fav is neither of these and works nicely, with a bar on one side, sofas on the other and a stage in the middle, which is really all you need.
First on were The Teenagers, who did their best despite a pretty lacklustre reception from the crowd. I enjoyed the tunes but toward the end of the set it all seemed to melt into one. The lead singer had fun doing a good impression of Mr Flowers from The Killers and the rest of the band were looking suitably cool/geeky, whichever way you see it.
I hadn't heard anything by These New Puritans before, and on the strength of their set i'll try to avoid hearing anything by them again. With lyrics that really probed deep into the nature of our reality including 'What's your favourite number? What does it mean?', they might go far in the art scene but i couldn't be arsed with it. Good beats though.
After These New Puritans there was a fair break in which time: my sister left the gig to go sleep in the car, there was a ruckus in front of the stage between some lairy dudes who were alternating between all-smiles and whatchoo-lookin-at?, and the DJs proceeded to spin some of the best tunes i've ever heard played in a club.
The main event. Crystal Castles. Their Myspace page describes the music as thrash/thrash/thrash, but a lot of their work including Trash Hologram and Untrust Us is nothing of the sort, more chilled out beats than jump-around anger. Well from the moment the group took to the tiny stage it absolutely went off. The lights went out, the beer was discarded and the beats began. I was pretty much dancing/jumping for the entire set, although it was pretty hard to dance while being battered from all sides by manic drunkards. That's what the live experience is all about though, and Crystal Castles deliver the raw energy they are famous for in spades. Alice is a pretty scary looking lass when in full on performance mode and her strobe-light just hyped the audience up even more. The gentlest beats on the records became the biggest, pulsatingest, hardcorest bangers in the live arena and i loved every minute of it.
I left the gig exhilarated and already looking forward to the next time i might be able to see them live. All in all, one of the sweatiest bands i've seen but also one of the best.
Cheeeeeers, Vice.
