Live
< The Long Blondes at Kentish Town Forum
words by Emma Robinson
The Forum bristles with anticipation, this being the first tour of the new album. There is a group of scarf wearing Camden-ites stood next to a middle aged man whose enthusiasm knows no sense of embarrassment. It’s a strange mix but everyone is jostling for a good view of lead singer Kate Jackson; who makes eyes pop out with her short shorts and slinky silhouette.The set list is a banal, straightforward exchange between new tracks from ‘Couples’ and older tracks to keep the devotees of ‘Someone To Drive You Home’ happy. Second song ‘Weekend Without Makeup’ is played with riveting pace, engineered to get some movement in the audience, but the initial leaping around quickly subsides to a polite bobbing up and down which is endemic throughout the whole set.
The audience cannot be blamed for their reserve, the band at times are as immobile as the mannequins that adorn the stage, so much so that it is half expected that the Andrew McCarthy will ride on stage, fall in love with bassist Reenie Hollis and save her from the shredder before the night is over.
Kate Jackson endeavours to incite a bit of action on the stage but her moves and posturing are lack lustre and uncharismatic. In comparison to The Duke Spirit’s gig at Koko last month, where Liela Moss had the audience at her absolute mercy with her enthusiasm and sexual energy, Kate appears stilted and tired.
The band do show flourishes of energy with ‘Once and Never Again’ and ‘Giddy Stratosphere’, but notably confidence is clearly lacking with the new material and the nerves showed with ‘Century’ becoming muddled halfway through.
It is the last date of a long UK wide tour but unfortunately the strain of being on the road so long dampens what is usually a fantastic live performance.
Originally appeared in volume 1, issue 31 of Loud & Quiet magazine
