Thanks to ongoing jitteriness on the Underground I’m fabulously late – although thankfully, it’s a just a false alarm today. At the moment everyone’s a little nervous, but the show must go on and has gone on. Can’t believe they didn’t wait for me! Husky are already well and truly into their stride and it’s a big Kelly Holmes of a stride. They’ve pulled a big and frankly, quite lairy crowd and they’re storming it. The guitarist has sliced his hands on his strings too and there’s blood everywhere. Well, there’s a bit of blood and anyway it’s all very rock n’ roll!

They’ve got the songs too and all in all these guys can really cut the mustard. They look awful and obviously in these image-obsessed times that just makes them all the more beguiling! Not sure if they’re Top of the Pops-bound but for now they’ll definitely be pulling a crowd on the London circuit.

The Nudes, however, are far less impressive. I guess it’s the disinterested, sullen New Yorker slacker vibe that they’re looking for but what they’re conveying to me is that they really can’t be arsed. There’s no urgency to their very Strokesy sound and after a short while even their partisan support of workmates starts to drift off to the bar. Bar Rumba is a fairly new addition to the live circuit and although being nice and dark, has the classic downside of having the bar in a separate part of the venue. Simply, you’ve got to be good or the bar starts looking very appealing.

They aren’t doing anything wrong – just nothing really that right. We’ve had three years of that broken down garage sound now, so there’s nothing new in it. Personally, I’m ready for something else, so unless you’ve got dazzling songs I’m just not bothered. They aren’t particularly tight either and although the singer’s a pretty infectious guy –and there’s a high ratio of females in the crowd, there’s no disguising that it’s back to the drawing board for The Nudes.

There’s a big last song, full of ‘woahs’ for their mates to join in and the smallish crowd boost the lack-lustre affair by demanding an encore. The Nudes duly oblige and are roundly congratulated by their mates after their big-ish finale. This stuff is fine if you’re a fan and with a bit of tightening up, more creative arrangement and catchier melodies The Nudes could well be in business. At the moment, though, I’ll be saving on the Basildon Bond as they’re nothing to write home about!

Chris Woods







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