2007年 Mar 12日 Monday, 19:26

Tue 6 Mar – Shiny Toy Guns, KC, Viva Machine

First on stage is Newport-based female rapper KC. A rather odd choice of support; think a short, blonde, female Dizzee Rascal accompanied by a laptop, she seems to go down well with the crowd. Her grime-influenced brand of rap makes for quite heavy going at times, but her obvious intelligence and the humourous aspects of her songs shine through.

Next up is tour support Viva Machine. Following an EP release on renowned local label Mighty Atom under the name Ipsofacto, the band have re-branded and consequently garnered significant interest from the national press. A high profile support slot on The Automatic’s month long U.K. tour during October and November of 2006 served to highlight their growing potential. The band has clearly prospered from such a hectic touring schedule; their performance is slick, and well-honed. Three-part harmonies that are nothing short of spine tingling are reminiscent of Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro. The band are a clear influence, crowd favourite and debut single ‘My Jet Set Radio’ sounds like it could have come straight off ‘The Vertigo of Bliss’, but is so toe-tappingly good that it can hardly count as a criticism. The explosive energy of frontman Gareth Carter further marks them out as a formidable live act.

A band brimming with potential playing a (near to) hometown show is always going to be a tough act to follow, and so it proves for headline act Shiny Toy Guns. With the impending release of their album ‘We Are Pilots’ to the U.K. market, the band have embarked on a massive 38 date stint, which takes in just about every corner (and everywhere in between) of the British Isles. Despite the venue being packed out the atmosphere seems somewhat subdued as the band take the stage, and this continues as the set begins. The electronica elements that give the band their distinctive sound seem drowned out on stage. The female vocals of Carah Faye Charnow also come across as weak in comparison to the recorded tracks.

Forthcoming single ‘You Are The One’ and stand-out album track Don't Cry Outlift the performance to above average, but the rest of the set is dull and largely uninteresting, and as they leave the stage after just over 30 minutes the Barfly is filled with a sense of ‘is that it..?’ Forthcoming U.K. dates with Fall Out Boy combined with their image and a record deal with Universal will no doubt ensure that Shiny Toy Guns will shift records, but on the basis of tonight’s showing the band lack the depth or character to become superstars.