White Lies/Naked And Famous - ITunes Festival, Roundhouse, London - 12th July 2011 (Live Review)
Monday, 18 July 2011
Written by James Ball
I guess I can say I was lucky enough to win tickets to two of these iTunes gigs. The other was the Manic Street Preachers and the review featured on Stereoboard last week. Next up then was the turn of White Lies, a band with nowhere near as much history as the Manics, but one with equally as high expectations. Coming just two days after Dave Grohl's furious ejecting of a fighting crowd member (the video for which has become a viral hit on Youtube) during his Foo Fighters concert, the Camden Roundhouse was under a spotlight. Thankfully, this night was thankfully free of such tomfoolery.
Boasting, arguably, one of the strongest support bills of the whole 31 days, there was a heap of hype surrounding this particular evening, with fast rising stars Alice Gold and The Naked and Famous on the same bill, it’s clear that most of the night was all about all three acts rather than just the headliners.
So, first up, Alice Gold, a local London lass delivering distinctly un-London sounds. Looking a bit like Debbie Harrys twin sister, she delivers a strong set filled with her brand of bluesy fuzz rock. She’s got one hell of a strong voice on her as well, belting out tracks such as single 'Runaway Love' with great swagger, thrashing her guitar around in the process. She’s clearly confident, yet appreciative of the crowd in front of her, and while not a show-stealing set, she’s got a polished performance behind her that she, and her band, can be proud of. That said, it was only 25 minutes long and therefore another song could have (and would have been) more appreciated as it was clearly over too early.
Next was The Naked and Famous, who are anything but local, hailing from the sunny shores of New Zealand. They performed a beautifully explosive mixture of dance, electro, funk, and indie and showed a serious knack for a damn good tune. Expertly put together show with real vigour and emotion. Utterly shamelessly high-energy and high tempo throughout their forty five minutes and this act could, with a bigger back catalogue, come back to headline one of these with the reception they got tonight. A bit of an odd choice to sandwich the bluesy Alice Gold and the Interpol-esque White Lies, but all the bleeping, synths and keys worked in the bands favour as each track was received with rapture from the now nearly full Roundhouse floor. Singles 'All of This' and 'Young Blood' were delivered with particular aplomb and it warmed the crowd right up for the main event.
White Lies are in a difficult position in many ways. Their recorded sound a bit like Editors, who sound a bit like Interpol, who sound a bit like Joy Division. Each one is, as a result, considered gradually worse than the last by most accounts, so upon arriving at this venue for this gig, I have to say I wasn’t quite as excited as others. However, the live performance that followed turned this around to a large degree. Opening with huge single 'Farewell to the Fairground', the songs take on a new life when not confined to the bedroom walls. It sounded like a proper room filler, with real atmosphere and substance. In fact, the whole first half of the set featured a series of high energy performances with the crowd (one member in particular got a bit too excited, got up on his friends shoulders, and proceeded to strip half naked, showing the band their own logo T-shirt. I wouldn't normally care but he was right in front of me, obscuring my view) truly lapping up every minute.
The set hit a bit of a lull just after 'Streetlights' as many of the slower tracks from 'Ritual' and 'To Lose my Life' got an airing, which took a bit of the energy away. But after watching the Naked and Famous, and the earlier part of White Lies set, there was no need to slow things down. However, the anthemic 'Death' turned that around just before heading off for the encore. Naturally, leaving your biggest song until the end is the usual way to finish a gig, and anyone who stuck around got a utterly thumping performance of Ritual's 'Bigger than Us' to close the evening off in emphatic style.
They may not be the most high-profile act on the iTunes Festival lineup, but White Lies and the rest of the bill made this night an excellent display of music.
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White Lies are in a difficult position in many ways. Their recorded sound a bit like Editors, who sound a bit like Interpol, who sound a bit like Joy Division. Each one is, as a result, considered gradually worse than the last by most accounts, so upon arriving at this venue for this gig, I have to say I wasn’t quite as excited as others. However, the live performance that followed turned this around to a large degree. Opening with huge single 'Farewell to the Fairground', the songs take on a new life when not confined to the bedroom walls. It sounded like a proper room filler, with real atmosphere and substance. In fact, the whole first half of the set featured a series of high energy performances with the crowd (one member in particular got a bit too excited, got up on his friends shoulders, and proceeded to strip half naked, showing the band their own logo T-shirt. I wouldn't normally care but he was right in front of me, obscuring my view) truly lapping up every minute.
