We start with Philadelphia Grand Jury, a fairly unassuming looking lot who on first glance don’t make this cynical old soul leap to the musical heavens. Fortunately, we are not so narrow-minded to let a snap judgment get in the way when it is obvious that onstage is one of the most exciting new rock n’ roll acts at work today. ‘The Good News’ is a 60’s influenced rock n roll gem with keys played by the gloriously named Berkfinger whose eyes take on the white hue of the willingly possessed, while ‘Going To The Casino Tomorrow Night’ is the kind of song JET might have made if they had a sense of humour
They are engaging throughout, exchanging instruments, stage places, and clearly giving everything they have (and they are not small men so this is not an empty statement). 'I Don’t Want To Party (Party)' sees the aforementioned Berkfinger and other lead MC Genius swap guitars twice, before Mr Finger loses his mind (but not his dignity) lurching around the stage, before crashing onto his back and pounding his strings as if they’d just touched up his sister. All over you think? Nope. Finger then stumbles into the crowd followed by Genius and the two of them blast out a glorious, ramped up version of Jay-Z’s ’99 Problems.’ Genuinely brilliant.
After this we begin to wonder how Male Bonding are going to follow because, rapturously as Nothing Hurts was received, they are a different kettle of fish altogether and though there are pop hooks and melodies aplenty underneath the crash and fuzz of their debut album, they just don’t have the bombast of their support act. And at first these worries seem to be realised, with an underwhelmed crowd nodding along appreciatively but somewhat unenthralled by what’s in front of them. The two leads keep their heads down, the feedback high and I find my mind drifting back to that Jay-Z cover.
Everything turns around with ‘Pirate Key’ and its instantly recognisable I see myself in colour/i see myself in light chorus, which is the Male Bonding equivalent of bouncy. The gig picks up from this point, with the band wasting little time in ripping through the songs of Nothing Hurts, plus a couple of new tracks. As time goes on they also become progressively more chatty after, at first, being seemingly unaware they even have a paying audience. Lead guitarist John Arthur Webb makes an ill-judged quip that ‘Camden’s a joke’ (they are resolute East London boys) though he seems to realise that not everyone has grasped how deeply his tongue is probing his cheek,so backtracks and tells a story about how bassist Kevin grew up near Camden. They’re clearly having a little snigger beneath it all but we don’t mind...
The band wrap up with ‘Pumpkin’ and it’s a breathless end to a show that, like the album, whips by in seconds. Negatives-wise, some of the quirkier melodies can get lost in amongst the noise and feedback levels that are high enough to give your Gran a heart attack. On the flipside, there’s something very involving about the all-encompassing aural assault- it draws you in and, though there wasn’t a great deal of dancing from the crowd (or me), it is undoubtedly engaging.
Posted In Live Reviews, Jul 08 2010.
Words - stevierice