Live: John Kennedy's Remedy All Dayer at Tooting Tram & Social, London (13 Nov '10)
A couple of weekends ago, I made the lonely and lengthy trip down to Tooting to attend XFM DJ John Kennedy's all day gigathon. While Tooting isn't exactly the most glamourous of places (good thing my place at a nearby medical school never quite worked out), the Tram & Social is a quite stunning venue. A wonderful setting for a whole host of great (and not-so-great) bands.
I've already given the first band I saw at the gig, Hot Horizons, a bit of a positive write up as I saw about two and a half of their songs so they don't really deserve much of a place in a live review. So I begin with electronica duo Elephant, who recently signed to Memphis Industries.
I'd instructed my friends to report back after seeing Elephant in a support slot a few weeks before the Tooting gig, as they sounded promising. The feedback I received wasn't exactly positive, with the most charitable remark being that "they probably sound better on record". So when the band played their set at The Remedy All Dayer, I was willing them on and hoping my friends were wrong. Alas, they were mostly right. While there were moments were the shimmering sea of guitar lines shone through, their performance often seemed a little bit too off kilter to enjoy properly. They are pretty nifty on record though, providing fascinating atmospheric soundscapes.
STREAM: Elephant - Wolf Cry
Get People are steadily building up buzz, although they perhaps didn't win me over in the manner I'd hoped. I must admit I was quite distracted by the 'Crocodile Dundee' hat one of the band was sporting along with another member's striking resemblance to Gareth Malone. But more so by the orange and coriander beer that was on offer. More positively speaking, I was somewhat entranced by the pineapple shaker they used, which was a witty visual representation of the band's tropical pop stylings. I'd definitely like to hear more. Of their own tracks, that is, rather than the bajillion remixes they've already managed to get under their belts.
STREAM: Careless by GET PEOPLE
DOWNLOAD: The Good Natured - Careless (Get People Cover)
Up next were Manchester-based trio Run Toto Run, who you may have come across by way of their brilliant covers. Their Passion Pit cover came in at #13 in my Festive Fifty last year. I guess that was a bit unlucky for the band as they encountered technical difficulties at the start of their set. But even then, opening track, 'Things Will Align', punched its way out of difficulty and into amazingness. Expect a string of electro pop hits in the not too distant future, with the anthemic 'Did You Hear That?' one to particularly watch out for.
DOWNLOAD: Run Toto Run - Sleepyhead (Passion Pit Cover)
I spent most of Anison's set chatting to other people at the bar (well away from the stage, I should add) so I can't really say anything other than they were a melodic indie-rock band, who weren't terrible. Also, I liked their addition of fairy lights to the stage.
The final act I saw before calling it a day were Innercity Pirates, a band who I've followed a while since they emerged as the follow up to one of my favourite bands of the early 00s, My Red Cell. The new band never quite lived upto my expectations but after this thrilling performance, I'm now going to keeping more of an eye on Innercity Pirates. Kicking off with their excitable recent single 'Seen It All Before', they rampaged through their short set before ending with an unexpected but utterly inspired cover of Weezer's 'Undone - The Sweater Song'. A perfect end to a great evening.
STREAM: Seen It All Before by Innercity Pirates
If you ever find yourself in the depths of Tooting, do visit the Tram & Social. Perhaps on the way, you can listen to John Kennedy's brilliant radio show X-Posure.
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