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Violet Violet, These New Puritans, Blood Red Shoes

As I made my way to this gig I was listening to Wire's Chairs Missing, an Art Punk classic. A fitting intro for two of tonight's bands.

The venue was the Junction 2 in Cambridge. With a capacity of over 200, and about that many there, this was a bit larger than my preference for gigs. Give me the back room in a pub any day.

First up were Violet Violet. I must admit this is the band I went to see, an all female threepiece whose energetic punk pop debut Bitchbox has had me grinning like a rabid hamster for the last few months. On stage they did not dissapoint, hammering through their infectious material with energy, drive and lots of movement on stage. It's great to see a band that work great live and in the studio and clearly take a simple joy in what they are doing. With no lead, the combination of all three on vocals enriches the rawer three piece sound. This being an all age gig it was also satisfying to see that teenagers don't just consume commercially prepackaged stadium rock, but actualy care about real bands too. Sadly the set was cut short, as sound checking had overrun and the second support weren't willing to compromise on their set. 5/5

These New Puritans seemed to have some issues with the sound set-up, but to be honest there is not much going on here. If you are going to do electronica mixed with indie then at least pick interesting indie and interesting electronica. I gave up with these folks and sat it out in the bar instead. If you want this sort of thing, check out The Resistance instead. Not Rated

The headliners Blood Red Shoes I hadn't seen since they became a bit famous. The last time was in the back room of a pub, and they were one of the bands that made me realise that the Indie scene was alive and kicking after years of beige tripe. That first gig is still the one I will remember them by. Sure the two piece are tighter and smoother now, but it struck me that the edge had been blunted, and some of the material displayed a milder tendency so common when these sorts of Art Rock bands begin to get popular. It's like the difference between late 70's Adam and the Ants Peel sessions and the studio albums. So yeah the songs are catchy, punky, with traces of metal, they are a joy to watch still, the drumming still sends shivers, the album will hopefully be fantastic ... but they have lost a certain something. 4/5

Still the kids are alright, with the band ending the set with a stage full of teenagers loving every minute of it.

Oh and I was invited to the after-show party with The Long Blondes who were playing Juntion 1. But I had better things to do!

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