NME New Music Tour 2007 @ Concorde 2, Brighton

NME-organised gigs are very unique and instantly recognisable creatures.From the huge black-white-and-red tour posters decorating every wall and visible flat surface to the scenesters, (one of whom has wrapped himself in a piece of stiff glossy paper akin to Morrissey’s famous encounter with the Union Jack flag) to the screen above the stage, playing segments of music videos on a loop and burning image after image of a naked Beth Ditto into the audience’s retinas. It is clear where the money spent on tickets has ended up tonight. Good thing, then, they’ve managed to clobber together a decent line-up, featuring four bands who, in their own right, have earned praise from journalists and fans alike.

Detouring from the expected line-up, the first band on are local duo Blood Red Shoes. The couple, while being undoubtedly aesthetically pleasing, have all the stage charisma and attitude of the dead fish washed up on the beach a mere 500 metres away. They rattle through their numbers, including the fairly insulting ‘It’s Getting Boring By The Sea’ and the highlight, a song consisting almost entirely of shouts of ‘No! Yes! Yes! Yeees!’ - way more entertaining if you listen with your eyes closed and let your imagination fill in the blanks. Their identical bored expressions on their faces reveal all, giving the impression they’d rather be anywhere, ANYWHERE else than their home town, performing on the closing night of a well-promoted successful tour. Us in the audience respond by giving off the exact same vibes of indifference, secretly praying that this particular grungy, repetitive song will be the last.

Then, like manna from heaven, 3D printed tiger masks fall from the arms of the three young men onstage, signalling the beginning of Pull Tiger Tail’s set and therefore something interesting. The band could not be further from the dire duo previously gracing the stage, injecting enthusiasm and character into every bar and every lyric, from the opener ‘Mr 100 Percent’ to rousing sing-along ender ‘Let’s Lightning’. But it is fan-favourite ‘Animator’ that provides the high-point of the set, after many prompts and requests from the crowd, eager to expel energy and burn out vocal cords shouting along. After their all-too-soon exit (and a brief cameo from Little Ones drummer Greg, who jumps astride one band member, adding a well-received dash of homo-eroticism to the set), the stage is still littered with the now dirty and crumpled masks, symbolising what next band The Little Ones have to follow.

And don’t they make a good attempt at doing so. Playing tune after tune of mellow Californian sunshine, smiles never leaving their faces, they represent exactly what it is American bands do better than us Brits ’ easy but not boring, feel-good but not smug tracks that reek summer and good times (see also : The Shins and The Decemberists). The uplifting single ‘Lovers Who Uncover’ received the best reaction from the crowd, each person lost in the nostalgic mood that magically descends - from the delighted buzz that begins as soon as they exit, there were at least a few new Little Ones converts by the end of the night, I’m sure.

With the audience suitably relaxed and soothed, headliners Rumble Strips (pictured) take to the stage. Carrying the brass instruments that help create the unique pop-jazz influenced sound they’ve become known for, they launch straight in, frontman Charlie Waller supported for a large proportion of the set by various audience members, who not only know every word to every song, but are quite happy to bellow them at full volume. The set includes spiky harmony driven ‘Alarm Clock’ and closer ‘Motorcycle’, which receives the best reception of the whole night, with us having been tormented with extracts of the video courtesy of NME’s in-house cinema all night.

The closing honks and whines of brass layered with the many voices rising in a crescendoing ‘Fly-HI!’ (think a modern John Travolta at the end of ‘Summer Nights’ in Grease), bring what many believe to be the end of a spectacular night. However, before the audience can get their breath back, and begin to move to the back of the venue to steal some of those fine posters, every band member is back onstage again, for an encore consisting of an unexpected Thin Lizzy classic ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’. And indeed, the Rumble Strips boys are going to be back in town soon, playing a repeat headline gig at the Concorde in October. I sincerely urge everyone to go - everyone deserves to see a moustachioed trumpeter and bearded saxophonist perform a crude shambolic jig together at least once in their lives.

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