THE SHAKES - BAR ACADEMY - THURSDAY 27TH OCTOBER


Cinimo open up at the slowly-filling Islington Bar Academy (one of my favourite venues due to its intimacy). The local band produce a good mix of laid-back groves with a tone that suggests the band members are on anti-depressants. Eclectic guitars, and melancholic vocals make this ideal backing for the pre-headline chitterchatter. The highlights are the folky ?Don?t Know?, and the delicate beauty of single ?The Theft?.

Fellow London boys, The Slides are on next and impress again (I first saw them in the summer at Truck Fest), after having spread their seed around the UK throughout September and October. They have an instant stage presence with the striking singer/guitarist Rod Da Rosa, and the vibrant The Doors-esque organ playing from Ian Compton catching the eye. Every one of these 70?s rock inspired songs is a toe-tapper or a hip-shaker and each one evolves from jangly tunes with simple instrumentation rising into a heady mix of soulful rock as Da Rosa?s arching vocals ascend alongside the rousing psychedelic organ (a criminally underused musical tool).

The drawback is the tentative crowd, who at this point are reluctant to move closer to the stage even after encouragement from the band. Gauging from the number of the crowd who sing along gleefully to The Shakes when they are on, I suspect the headliners have pulled in a huge percentage of the packed-out crowd. However, The Slides rise to the task of converting and absorbing the Shakes fans with their fervent performance. On this evidence, they should have made some inroads. They unleash new single ?DNA?, but undoubtedly the best moment comes with previous single ?Can You Feel It? with its funky, catchy verse that leads into the spiralling rousing chorus which includes more organ noodling over relentless drumroll-style percussion. They even have time to show their varied musical talent with the harmonica being employed as well as ex-drummer De Rosa taking a moment to show some sticksman skills of his own.



The Shakes arrive to the stage with quite an act to follow, but with their support in tonight, this quickly goes from being a test to an indulgence. The gig is dubbed as The Shakes Single Launch Party, as they are releasing new single ?Goodbye New York? on the 7th November, and a more sprightly start to a set you will not see. The retro-wear clad indie-rockers are a ball of fun from start to finish. The frontman has a huge smile on his face throughout and swaggers through a set of vibrant London indie that is like The Strokes fused with ska, like The Others with the rebellious snarl replaced with a jovial smugness.

He is endlessly entertained by the full crowd and their singing, and at a number of points, he turns the microphone towards the fans to help in the chanting choruses and responds with excitement saying, ?this is brilliant!?

The Shakes? onstage display of happiness fits their brand of music, as the songs are full of bounce, with catchy little guitar hooks, groovy basslines, elements of ska thrown in, and random keyboard strokes from a Shutty from Terrorvision look-a-like in dark glasses who looks like he is riding high on a different planet from the rest of the band! They conjure up a typically London sound, youthfulness, and the borderline-cheesy schmaltz in the tambourine clap-a-long ?Valentine? and delicate anecdotal ditty ?Liberty Jones? make The Shakes effortlessly likable. The lyrics and vocals are down to earth and accessible, and at times the whole buzz of excitement, maraca-shaking, harmonica-piping, and clapping give a bunch of fairly average songs a vibrancy and edge.

They make the night with their new single ?Goodbye New York?, which has a driving chant of those very words with jagged guitars, and with the added crowd interaction it rocks. The Shakes? enthusiasm alone will cause a stir and get peoples? intention and their sound brings a welcome spark to today?s flagging- indie sound. They are likely to be a better live band than on record, but all the bands on show tonight have very bright futures.


(9/10)

Reviewed by Rowland Marsh