Somebody, somewhere is spoiling us. Having already witnessed venue levelling sets this year from LCD Soundsystem and !!!, it is now time for Radio 4 to return to our shores. Anyone who witnessed any of their gigs last year in support of ‘Gotham!’ will know what a powerful live proposition these New Yorkers are. With a new single ‘Party Crashers’ and a new album ‘Stealing Of A Nation’ ready to go, W&H couldn’t wait to catch up with the funkiest punkiest agit rockers around.
Before that though, 93 Feet East (more regularly used as a club but growing as a live venue every time we come here) know how to throw a party. It may be a wet Tuesday in East London but that doesn’t mean we’re going to mope around like it’s a Smiths convention. Not with Tom Middleton banging out the beats at any rate. Looking every inch the country squire complete with ‘rustic’ facial hair and what appears to be a tweed shirt (do such things exist?), he sets the tone for the evening at storming. Last time I saw Tom Middleton he was on late night TV as a judge on a DJ competition, taking one of the hopefuls to a field so he could record the ambience. Sure beats having a day job at any rate.
KAITO take to the stage to LCD Soundsystem's ‘Losing My Edge’. Which is a great way to win friends and influence people. A four piece consisting of Niki Colk on vocals and guitar, Gemma Cullingford on bass, Dave Lake on guitar and Dieta Quantrill on drums they come across as the bastard offspring of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Elastica. Their set is powerful mix of angular guitars and pounding rhythms, full of stops and starts and weird electronica they’re a visceral, thrilling experience and most of all they’re very, very LOUD!
And on to the main event. If we are talking about a scene (let’s call it funk punk for argument's sake), then !!! bring the funk, DFA and LCD Soundsystem are bringing the heart and soul and Radio 4 bring the conscience. This is not to say that they don’t know how to get a crowd dancing their arses off because as they prove tonight they can make a crowd lose themselves in the moment. What they also do is raise questions, make you think and above all make a point. For those of us that lost ourselves in dance music through the 90’s but in our hearts knew this was an interesting diversion rather than a way of life, Radio 4 make sense of these feelings. They know as we do that far more interesting then mindless hedonism, was the base thrills of the dance floor tied to the guttural and political might of the Sex Pistols, the Clash, PIL (they are named after one of PIL’s songs), Gang of Four and any number of punk, post punk and hardcore bands.
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Like LCD and !!! they know image (how you dress, what haircut you have) is a poor loser to substance. Off stage they may be unassuming but onstage they are powerful and in your face. A five piece consisting of Anthony Roman on bass and vocals, Tommy Williams on guitar, Greg Collins on drums, percussionist PJ O’Connor and Gerard Garone on keyboards. Roman in particular is a tightly wound bundle of energy, full of awkward dance moves, lost in the pounding rhythms and scathing lyrics.
Second song ‘Start a Fire’ concerns itself with how AIDS has dropped from the agendas of the media and politicians whilst making you pogo and dance. Their sound is fierce and abrasive. The new material is similar in vein, there is no let up, no ballads, no mellow parts, all the songs are aimed at you head and your feet. ‘Save our City’ and ‘Eyes Wide Open’ are just two of the highlights and during the latter PJ O’Connor (the percussionist who has been an absolute nutter throughout) throws Tom Middleton, who’s sitting in the DJ booth next to the stage, a tambourine before inviting him on stage for a finale of ‘Dance To The Underground’.
‘Dance To The Underground’ was Radio 4’s response to Mayor Guiliani’s draconian laws regarding dancing and suitably in London tonight people are climbing the walls, dancing for their lives until sweat covers them. It is a glorious moment. They return for one encore, ‘New Disco’, their hardest song that again sends the crowd into a frenzy before disappearing for good. Wow.
Tonight Radio 4 absolutely blew the roof off. The anticipation for the new material is at bursting point and with the right backing these boys deserve to make the next step in brining their righteous party to the unsuspecting masses. Join them or miss out.
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