3(Gigs),thats the Magic Number(s)

Broke my gig-going duck (I have one of those!!!)this week with gigs by the mighty Speed Circus, Magic Numbers and Dawn Of The Replicants.
Thursday was the Magic Numbers, The Concretes/Shout Out Louds and Morning Runner at Brixton. Now I’ve always loved these NME awards show gigs, 4 band bills great value for money and all that but for some reason I really couldn’t be arsed with Morning Runner. Not knowing much about them apart from the fact that they supported Coldplay and sound a bit like them, I decided not to watch them and opted to stay in the pub. Timed it perfectly as it happens; we got into the Academy in time for Sweden’s Shout Out Louds.
I have liked this lot since I heard the minor buzz about them early last year, the description of them being a bit like Arcade Fire doing Magic Numbers is a pretty good one and the 30 minute or so set flew by and didn’t seem long enough, must see them headline eventually!
Next up were another bunch of Swedes, The Concretes also a band I’ve liked for a while but never seen. Early impressions of their set was of a more sugary Velvet Underground, mainly on the strength of the material from their debut album. The stuff from forthcoming longplayer In Colour sounds a lot more accessible and poppy and should hopefully see the bands reputation grow further, so why was the lead singer so moody????? Who knows???!?!?!?!
At exactly 9:50, out walked two sets of brothers and sisters, dressed like the kids in the Scooby Doo cartoons to a rapturous reception and you knew it was going to be a good gig. Almost exactly a year after I first saw them at The Barfly supporting Willy Mason, The Magic Numbers headline Brixton Academy and this night seemed like a celebration for everyone. You don’t see many bands that can induce such good vibes in a crowd and from traditional opener The Mule onwards there were mass singalongs, handclaps and cheers at the appropriate moments and there were a few genuine hairs on the back of the neck moments. The bit where Angela sings in I See You, You See Me where the 5000 inside the Academy simultaneously melt and go mental at the same time. The mass singalong of Wheels On Fire, the superb cover of Beyonce’s Crazy In Love. The band were obviously made up with this one, a crazy year resulting in a homecoming of sorts that celebrated the spectacular rise to prominence, the thing is the sky seems to be the limit, can’t wait for this years festivals now!!!!!!

The Magic Numbers – Close Your Eyes (Live)

The Concretes – Fiction

Shout Out Louds – The Comeback

A review of Dawn Of The Replicants will follow when I can remember last night……….



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Subcircus – Carousel


Here’s another underrated classic for you. Subcircus are another band from that Post-Britpop time where there was great music everywhere but no pigeonholes for bands to be put in and sold from.
A mix of Suede, Placebo and Bowie, this collection of songs spawned a couple of great singles which seemed to get re-released many times to little success. Eventually the track 86’d got somewhere in the charts and Carousel was also re-released, re-packaged and the running order changed. Mild success followed and the band disappeared for a couple of years before releasing the follow-up Are You Receiving Me? in 2000 which did nothing.
Have a listen to the original version of the album, it still sounds quite good.



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