The Long Blondes-Saturday 28th October 2006, Birmingham Carling Academy 2 Supported by 鈥楳onkey Swallows The Universe鈥 and 鈥1990s鈥 Monkey Swallows The Universe kicked it all off with their relaxed and creative lyrics. Although the songs were good and performed to perfection, the band lacked confidence and looked more like they didn鈥檛 really want to be there, wearing what one would normally wear to a school recital. I felt sorry for them; they were obviously pros all at their instruments but seemed really quite uncomfortable and stiff. I was proud of them for being able to switch between all of their instruments effortlessly as they supported not only the normal guitars and drums, but a cello, a violin, a glockenspiel as well as finding an actual use for the recorder. The cello player scared me though; he obviously was a fan of 鈥楾he Embarrassing Dad Dance鈥 proceeding to prance around the stage clicking and bobbing his head when he wasn鈥檛 playing. Saying that he was the most confident of the whole group and his 鈥榞etting the crowd to clap along鈥 skills were quite good. I felt overall they were unsuited to the venue, had they been anywhere else then I am sure they would have been more appreciated. Don鈥檛 get me wrong, the music was really good, especially 鈥楯immy Down The Well鈥 which I loved, but it was in the wrong place and they missed the essential 鈥榦omph鈥. Given some tweaking and a bit of a confidence boost this band could be excellent. Come on lets see it happen! 1990s 1990鈥檚 blew me away. They jumped straight into their set, guitars blazing, the complete opposite to the shy, melodic 鈥楳onkey Swallows The Universe鈥. Having listened to their songs on MySpace beforehand, I hadn鈥檛 been overly impressed by this band, but they gave 110% live and the songs that were lifeless on MySpace came alive on the stage. If this band do as well as they did last night, this band could potentially be THE band to see live. Some members of the crowd were obviously not impressed though, throwing beer at the band and telling them to get off the stage. Whether or not you liked the band, they whipped the crowd up in preparation for the headliners and obviously had a great time whilst doing it. Their music is powerful and confident, essentially needing to be played at high volume, which weren鈥檛 hesitant to do. I was impressed that only three people could make so much noise, though I wish they had retained their Scottish accents in their songs. The Long Blondes
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And finally we had The Long Blondes. Even though this was their first time in Birmingham, this band strode onto the stage like they owned the place. Launching into 鈥楲ust In The Movies鈥, they held the crowd in their palm from the first note. Even though their album is still unreleased, this crowd has obviously followed the band intensely since they knew the majority of the words, which isn鈥檛 hard bearing in mind how long they were unsigned for and听 the cult status the lead singer Kate is ascending to. One thing I noticed about the group was the diversity of the audience; both age and dress. The Long Blondes do not just attract one type of person-they have a broad spectrum of fans. Usually at concerts you see all the fans supporting the same clothes, but here it was different; each person wearing clothes unique to their own personality and style. By the time they had got to their current single 鈥極nce And Never Again鈥, the crowd was whipped up into a frenzy. Even when the band played their less known songs, they got a huge reception from the crowd, mainly down to the mesmerising moves of Kate, who keeps your eyes and attention locked with her unique outfits and dancing. I couldn鈥檛 help noticing how left out the other girls, Reenie and Emma seemed. I felt it was an affectation though - inside they were secretly screaming 鈥淥MG I鈥檓 in The Long Blondes and they love us!!!鈥 I doubt it would be considered 鈥榗ool鈥 to look like you were enjoying yourself if you were in the band, although the drummer Screech couldn鈥檛 help smiling when he saw the reception the band had.
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I was impressed by the singing. I thought some of the notes in a few of the songs may be too hard to repeat but they were done perfectly - I couldn鈥檛 fault the singing at all. The Long Blondes really put a lot of emotion into their songs which is the main reason why they are a good band. They had a massive affect from the crowd especially when they performed their released songs, such as 鈥楪iddy Stratospheres鈥, where the whole crowd surged forward and sang the words almost louder than the band itself. Concluding the set with 鈥楽eparated by motorways鈥 they had no encores, which I thought was really quite abrupt. You were left feeling slapped in the face and astonished at the intense band you hade just seen. The crowd stayed behind after for a few minutes waiting for any sign of the band coming back on, only to disperse when it was apparent they really had finished and it was in fact time to leave. Overall, I was extremely impressed by The Long Blondes. Bearing in mind it was their first time in Birmingham, they knew what the crowd wanted, playing only the most popular of their songs and leaving us all wanting more. This band is original and different; their lyrics are witty and clever all wrapped in their catchy music and Kate鈥檚 distinctive voice, as well as the fact that they dress the part. The set may have been short and sweet, but it鈥檚 just a little taster of what this band is truly capable of in the future. The bands current single 鈥極nce And Never Again鈥 is out now, with their debut album 鈥楽omeone To Drive You 麻豆约拍鈥 out November 6th. | 
