I’ve not blogged for some time. And for that I make little apology. Life has taken some fabulous turns and I’ve been lining my ducks up (so to speak).
I’m no longer in Spain. I didn’t quite make a year in the villa. One day I might regret that I cut my sabbatical short by a few months but the opportunity presented by the new day job was one too good to turn down.
And working in the centre of London is something i’ve always wanted to do. With so many live gig opportunities on the doorstep, I am truly now a man in a sweetshop. I’ll be spending a fair few weekday nights in this fair city and what better to do than to scan the guides for the bizarre, the up and coming and not-yet-famous talent.
It’s a Monday night in February yet still the gig-going options are plentiful. A few catch the eye but none more so than the ‘sous le radar’ night at the Victoria in Dalston. It’s not a venue I’ve been to before but the draw of seeing (for no door charge) Rubber Jaw for the first time, recently signed to Alan McGee’s new vinyl 7 inch label, is an enticing one. He mightn’t have signed a truly great band for a while (some would uncharitably argue since Oasis) but for me his stamp is sufficient.
It’s the rather peculiar beauty of nights such as this one that you’ll need to be open-minded about the variety on offer. It’s new and under the radar but that’s where any similarity between the acts on stage stops. To my mind, it makes for a better night if you’re not afraid to mix up the genres but many of the indie kids might disagree staying in the bar or planning their travel to only arrive once McGee’s protégés take to the stage.
And that’s a shame. Dualeh Oke opens proceedings with warmth and awkward charm. A rapper with a backing tape, this young lad from East London shows enough within his four tunes tonight to warrant further investigation. He connects by confessing that he writes tunes in the toilets during breaks from work. The jazzy overtones of his songs about Instagram fame almost descend into trip-hop. He takes us further down during his dark fourth number, Dualeh’s comment on how he can’t always best communicate with his Somalian Dad.
I head to the bar and order another pint of milk. No, dear readers, I haven’t changed that much. Milk is a locally brewed lager in these parts. I like the Victoria. Trendy yet simple and grounded, it’s got a decent choice of beers and a friendly bunch of staff. What’s not to like?
Nenah, the middle act of the night is not without merit either. Confident, urban pop, it’s taken out of the obvious with an occasional sprinkling of what could be described as a sort of middle Eastern dust. She’s probably got enough material to fill this short set by herself but generously gives up some of her slot to a K-rapper called Wu. Wu bounces energetically, hyper-actively and not always convincingly around the stage urging to all to feel his energy before Nenah returns for her last track, Sick. She has a bass player sporting a Lionel Richie T-shirt and you concede that there is something of the 80’s here; with a bit more polish, there’s an early-years Madonna waiting to get out.
Rubber Jaw are nothing like Dualeh or Nenah but everything like every indie guitar band from the past few years. And it’s no bad thing sounding like Blossoms if that’s the space you’ve set your eyes upon. With familiar tricks and licks they run through their repertoire with cool swagger and nonchalant mumble. They’ve been generously watching the other acts of the night and such decent behaviour doesn’t go unnoticed in these quarters. Nice lads from Essex, you concede that they’ve got the tunes to make further impact in this big bad world. Unsurprisingly, they save their McGee released single, Feeling Funny, to their finale. It’s good but not necessarily their best; I prefer their third tune played, belatedly announced as their next single coming out in March by their lead singer.
All told I’m pretty excited by tonight. I would have paid a few quid for the privilege of seeing these three acts run through their short sets but that doesn’t seem to be the aim of ‘Sous Le Radar’s’ promoter. With so much on my doorstep, I can’t wait to discover more nights such as this.
sonicbreakfast 