The act I was most excited about tonight was Catcall. Coming across from punk rock band Kiosk, I was hoping like Macromantics, she'd arrive at hip hop with a different slant and a different spin on things. Up front on the mic with a dj in the back playing back tracks straight up, tonight's performance was disappointingly straight. Two or three songs aside, the material sounds worryingly normal. Bummer.
Yacht. What to make of this. Some kind of gonzo entertainist. Press play on the laptop and proceeds to win the room over with shouty vocals and jerky dance moves. Coming at electro pop from indie rock, jumps into the crowd and does a quick Q+A. Charming. Ends with a thrashing punk rock tune called "women of the world" that looks as if he's fronting an invisible punk rock band, intense wall of noise that had me concerned about my long term hearing. Brilliant surprise.
Again with the Architecture in Helsinki. Never been a massive fan of what they have put down on record. But in the flesh, the chaotic randomness is a definite plus. Still kept me guessing as to which directions the songs go. I would get tired of it very quickly on the home hi-fi, but here, tonight, amongst all you filthy, disgustingly sweaty, hyper kids, I can't help but smile at the joy all around. Well done.