One thing becomes evident at tonight’s Heineken Green Spheres gig: if you want to get ahead in pop circa 2009, you need to remember two things. 1) There’s no such thing as too much percussion, and 2) Korg is the new Fender.
First up is The Cockandbullkid (aka 23-year-old Londoner Anita Blay), looking noticeably disinterested and relying heavily on backing tracks. Her closing tune, the uplifting ‘Boys & Girls’, offers a glimmer of what might have been. File under Must Try Harder.
Next are Casiokids who dance their merry way onto the stage, with frontman Ketil Kinden Endresen channelling the spirit of Jarvis Cocker. These Norweigan multi-instrumentalists blend a hip-swinging mix of 8-bit Atari sounds with Sigur Ros and LCD Soundsystem influences. Featuring plenty of cowbell and blippy keyboards, the blistering ‘Fot I Hose’ induces a collective orgasm among the hot and sweaty crowd.
Following such a strong preceding act is no easy task, but Friendly Fires blaze onto the stage. The jazz-infused ‘In The Hospital’ performed with thumping live brass raises the musical bar for the evening, but it’s fan-favourites ‘Paris’ and ‘Photobooth’ that really turn up the heat. Their set is so heavy on cow-bell, one would be forgiven for thinking Will Ferrell had escaped from the famous SNL sketch. Eighties influences are clearly on show and it would be in the newly-regrouped Spandau Ballet’s interests to investigate Friendly Fires’ far superior breed of new wave synth-pop.
In a curious coincidence, after the show, a collection of fire engines congregated in the adjacent Morgan Street to extinguish a minor blaze. Thankfully, the Heineken Green Sphere fires were very friendly indeed.