Support act: People In Planes
I had never heard of this band before, under this name or 'Tetra Splendor' like they used to be called, neither have any of my friends. Strange when you see the impressive list of bands they have supported. Tonight it's Hard-Fi, but they have also opened for Jamie Cullum and Fun Loving Criminals, catching the eye of a well known producer who began to work on some tracks with them. Although they are Cardiff based, People In Planes are signed to an American label (Wind-Up Records). A result from a very sucessful tour through the US in 2005. This indie five-piece sounds better live than on the tracks you can hear on their website and MySpace. They are warmer and have more energy, keeping the audience interested throughout the set. What really helps is that they're such lovely guys. They were clapping for us while we were applauding and after the show they were handing out flyers, chatting and taking pictures with girls. I must admit that the lead singer is very nice to look at. Their album is out at the end of March, buy it! Official website
Hard-Fi
Having had a couple of top-40 hits the past year with Hard To Beat and Tied Up Too Tight, and single Cash Machine doing very nicely right now, Vera is getting too small for this band. Nobody was surprised to hear this gig had sold out after only a couple of days. Hailing from London suburb Staines, touring Europe, the US and Japan; these four men seem to be on the way to be big.
The wait for Hard-Fi was a long one. The equipment was set up, the band nowhere in sight. The crowd, being fed up with the reggae-tracks that were being played, was getting restless. Kids were throwing beer around, adults were getting very annoyed with the kids and the good atmosphere was dissolving pretty rapidly. When the band finally arrived and kicked into Gotta Reason, the response was massive. Sadly they weren't able to keep this enthusiasm going. Their performance was very average. The main reason for this was their front-man's attitude. I don't know if he was on drugs, exhausted or just plain arrogant, but it wasn't good. His eyes were hollow, fixated on a spot at the back of the hall, or the ceiling. He was dribbling, strings of slime hanging from his mic to his lips. His voice weakened after about four songs and his moves and speeches seemed carefully planned to the very detail. The band didn't interact with the crowd at all.
I had been warned by a friend that Hard-Fi live isn't as good as Hard-Fi on a disc. He had also warned me about shocking cover this band does. I was very curious about this and when they started something I didn't recognise from their album 'Stars of CCTV', I started to listen very carefully to see if I could detect which song it was. The music had a familiar sound to it, but I couldn't figure out what it could be. Not until he started singing. The detest amongst the people I was with was clearly visible; it was Seven Nation Army from the White Stripes, raped and moulded into something horrible. They lost major credit here. I have nothing against covering a song to the point where it's hardly recognisable, but this was just wrong.
We left the crowd during their first encore to escape to the bar at the back of the hall. There we saw more people frowning at the band we had just seen. Had we expected too much? Were they having a bad night? Or has this band grown too big too soon? Overrated or not, this was not a good show.
Verdict: The sound was good, the singer's voice wasn't. The hits attracted a lot of badly behaving teens. Bad atmosphere and a not-so-good show result in a so-so rating. If they play a festival I am attending I'd go see them if there isn't any other good band on, but I'm not buying tickets for a show they are headlining again.
Pictures of this gig are here!