September 23, 2005

The Junction Fiver

Went to the Junction last night for a "European special" indie night costing, surprise, surprise, a fiver to get in. It was the first time I've been to the Junction since its recent makeover; it doesn't seem to have changed all that much, but does feel much more like a proper music venue and less like a warehouse.

The first act we saw was Niccokick from Sweden. The drummer had a mop of dark hair like a brillo pad, and was very enthusiastic and animated. As were the whole band really. The keyboard was a welcome addition to the standard guitars, and the keyboard player's quirky style was the highlight of their stage presence - I loved his stance hunched over his tiny keyboard and his hyperactive strutting around with a tambourine.

Alizarin were on second. The sparser, more melancholic stuff they played seemed to suit them better than their rockier numbers, and was also the only time the keyboard player fitted in with the band. On the faster numbers she often had nothing to play and so seemed a bit lost and out-of-place sat there motionless at the keyboard. If she'd been stood up then maybe she'd have had to move around a bit more and looked more part of the band, or maybe they could've given her some backing vocals, or a bit of a raunchier, rock-chick image. As it was, at times she looked a bit "classical recital" to the rest of the band's "indie rock".

Third act Skip the Rush were good and, like Alizarin, are from Amsterdam. The vocalist looked like Paul O'Grady's kid brother, and kept getting tangled amongst the cables and mic stands. He started off wearing a jacket which gave him a bit of a Jarvis Cocker-esque demeanor, which fitted well with his stage antics and posturing; something the rock t-shirt underneath failed to do when he took the jacket off.

They're in Cambridge for another couple of days, and there are rumours of some open air jamming on Jesus Green today from noon, if they can find a few acoustic guitars.

The headline act was the Broken Family Band, and you could tell from the audience reaction that they are popular round here - local boys done pretty-well-so-far, everyone was a bit nearer the stage, and there was more banter from the crowd. Despite almost seeing them on many occasions, this was actually the first time I'd caught them live. They were good, their alt-country sound a bit different from the norm, but they seem to carry it off, and provided an enjoyable climax to the evening's proceedings.

Posted by Adrian at September 23, 2005 11:38 AM | TrackBack

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Comments

Just goes to show how small Cambridge. Myself, Panda, and some friends from Suffolk went along to the same night It was good to see them play Cambridge again after being busy touring and recording.

Posted by: Damien Ryan at September 24, 2005 04:49 PM

Cool. Cambridge is pretty small isn't it, there were a couple of guys I watch the footie with there too.

Posted by: Adrian at September 27, 2005 10:05 AM
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