Les Nuits part I - Do You Want To Know a Secret?
It's not often I go to a gig on spec and end up seeing a great band. A last minute decision to descend on Botanique for Les Nuits festival resulted in an even rarer event, the discovery of two great bands I'd not heard before.
The festival was spread across 4 sound stages with a new band playing on each every hour between 8:00 and 12:00. Cool. With so many acts to choose from I had a quick scan of the merchandise tables before taking my pick. In so doing I spotted two CD's with some decent reviews.
Official Secrets Act - Understanding Electricity - "Excellent", "hugely energetic, needle sharp" NME; "ThunderouslyExciting" The Guardian and "This Band are ready." Zane Lowe.
Breaks - Give Blood - "It's original, it's quirky and it rocks" The Sunday Telegraph; "Lunacy has seldom sounded more exhilerating" Q; "Pretty Much Perfect " Time Out; Full of fraught frivolous fun." NME 8/10; The melodic menace of the Pixie... and country licks of the Violent Femmes" Guardian ****
Buying a copy of each, I headed outside, passing numerous exotic food sellers and beer hawkers on the way to a tent and an encounter with Official Secrets Act. The band took to the stage to take up a dual drummer barrage of sound. What followed was 40 minutes of whimsical Brit pop with Hawkwindesque keyboard flourishes overlaying solid guitar and bass and the lead singers soaring vocals. Little Birds, Mainstream, Bloodsport this band have some absolute belters in their bag. Catchy Lyrics, hooking rifts and a stuffed crow. On this performance, and a subsequent listen to their debut abum, this band could go far and are more than a match for their British contemporary's. What's more, how can a band sporting a stuffed bird on stage fail? It didn't do Bob Calvert any harm in '77.
Speaking to the band after the gig, I found that two of them hailed from Scotland, the keyboardist / lead guitarist coming from a town near Aberfeldy, while another said he was from Largs.
It's official, this band wont be a secret for very much longer.
And so it was time to take a break before moving on to the Rotonde for band number two. Breaks...
The festival was spread across 4 sound stages with a new band playing on each every hour between 8:00 and 12:00. Cool. With so many acts to choose from I had a quick scan of the merchandise tables before taking my pick. In so doing I spotted two CD's with some decent reviews.
Official Secrets Act - Understanding Electricity - "Excellent", "hugely energetic, needle sharp" NME; "ThunderouslyExciting" The Guardian and "This Band are ready." Zane Lowe.
Breaks - Give Blood - "It's original, it's quirky and it rocks" The Sunday Telegraph; "Lunacy has seldom sounded more exhilerating" Q; "Pretty Much Perfect " Time Out; Full of fraught frivolous fun." NME 8/10; The melodic menace of the Pixie... and country licks of the Violent Femmes" Guardian ****
Buying a copy of each, I headed outside, passing numerous exotic food sellers and beer hawkers on the way to a tent and an encounter with Official Secrets Act. The band took to the stage to take up a dual drummer barrage of sound. What followed was 40 minutes of whimsical Brit pop with Hawkwindesque keyboard flourishes overlaying solid guitar and bass and the lead singers soaring vocals. Little Birds, Mainstream, Bloodsport this band have some absolute belters in their bag. Catchy Lyrics, hooking rifts and a stuffed crow. On this performance, and a subsequent listen to their debut abum, this band could go far and are more than a match for their British contemporary's. What's more, how can a band sporting a stuffed bird on stage fail? It didn't do Bob Calvert any harm in '77.
Speaking to the band after the gig, I found that two of them hailed from Scotland, the keyboardist / lead guitarist coming from a town near Aberfeldy, while another said he was from Largs.
It's official, this band wont be a secret for very much longer.
And so it was time to take a break before moving on to the Rotonde for band number two. Breaks...
Comments