Barfly, Camden, April 30
Lanette and I made our way to her last and my second to last gig at Camden's Barfly for The Cinematics. There was a rather large number of support acts, so we came in time to catch the last of the three, The Hip Parade (identified by the word HIP emblazoned on their instruments with electrical tape). Barfly's miniscule size made their set a little louder than was perhaps necessary, but their upbeat, chant-heavy, Franz Ferdinand-esque rock was a pleasant surprise. Some people in the crowd were...a little more enthusiastic than we were (re: extreme over-dancing), but they were an easy opener to watch.
After a short break, The Cinematics emerged. Actually they emerged from the side door and walked through the crowd past us to get to the stage. It's seriously a tiny venue. Their set was made up mostly of tracks from debut album A Strange Education, although they introduced a few new songs to preview their upcoming sophomore effort. Title track from said album, Love and Terror, was a standout, as was b-side Wish (when the banks collapse), the rare track with political commentary that I could actually stomach.
Some of my favorites for the evening were Maybe Someday, A Strange Education, and Rise & Fall. The Cinematics keep up the kind of gloom-rock aesthetic favored by contemporaries like Interpol and White Lies. Namely a lot of severe black suits, square, military inspired jackets, and slicked back hair. The exception was the guy in ironic thick glasses and suspenders who apparently got The Cinematics confused with another band. Wish I could have gotten a good picture, but the angle was terrible.
The verdict? Like White Lies, The Cinematics' music is much improved by live performance, which really energizes it. Seeing them in a really tiny venue was fun; one of the really great things about London is getting to see so many bands in such intimate locales. They make me want to see Interpol live, to see if the trend of bands like this being stellar live continues.
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