VATICAN JET are the best opening band I have seen for a long time, storming down to London fresh from Leeds. You wouldn't guess lead singer Dodge was ill, spreading a film of germs on the mic, the band attacking its set with vigourous At The Drive In-style energy, big Killers-style vocals with impressive harmony, weird Blur-type changes, and sing-along ska 'aaaaahhh aaahhh ahhhh' bits.
Guitarist Dobbo stomps absent-mindedly through a different land
wearing sci-fi virtual reality shades, while the crowd pricks up its ears. Their lead singer combines incredibly magnetic stage presence with a dry sense of humour, and he can really sing, with Andy Williams as his self-confessed guru.
At the same time, the rest of the band is very unified; they are all in this together, and their set is a foot-twitchingly skaa-ey, feelgood, upbeat one. Dodge occasionally brings out a dirty harmonica solo, or shakes a tambourine, which all adds to the good party vibe created by their "surfy, Spanish, skiffly Pixies-style" tunes. They pull out a few unexpectedly catchy choruses, like: "I know you'd f*** a monkey if it had a pretty face" with ska cubana umpah The Coral would be proud of, hard drumming from the beefy Wayne 'Insane', and quirks rivalled only by those of up-and-coming Southampton/London band The Sways.
Next they play a folky, dark rock 'n' roll number, 'about going out with the wrong person', called 'Plan B', a gorgeous 7inch black vinyl with a red Kelloggs sunrise on the front, out now on Pure Groove, and available at Rough Trade."Somewhere To See You" is their final song and feels like a 60s pop song, with Muse rockiness, but tasteful and spaceful,and with meaty Interpol/Joy Division style vocals, that completely confirm that this band know what they're doing, and they're doing it well. They're funny, savvy, and extremely entertaining. The kind of band you could easily become a Fan of,and the kind of boys you would definitely want to go for a pint with. www.vaticanjet.co.uk.
THE NEW SHAPES open with the challenging statement: "I don't see why I should change/You should change for me". This is "You Got Me Running Round", an XFM favourite with Strokes-y vocals.
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The band look and sound a bit like Maximo Park with their boxy military jackets and their raw guitar pop. The singing lets them down, and the songs seem a bit slight, flat and inconsequential after Vatican Jet, but singer Mark warms up after a bit and breaks the monotony, while the music turns a bit mad-computer-game.
The sax that has been glinting promisingly in the background is taken up by bassist Euan, which adds a moaning, ramshackle edge to their radio-friendly, uplifting song "The Falling Angels" with its desperate lyrics "I've been waiting so long, / I've been dreaming so long". Similarly catchy was "A Mirror's A Window", with its gooey, heart-wrenching chorus "why does it feel so bad - I don't feel so bad" in condemnation of the couch potatoes of this world.
The lead singer leaves before the end of the last song, which looks pretentious in a small venue like The Buffalo Bar and hints that they may be outgrowing their boots. This blueprint for the hero-worshipped rock-star-on-the-stage, which The New Shapes seem anxious to fill, is re-enacted in their new single 'Waiting For A God'. Mark dreams, "If every clap was a sale, we'd be no.1", and this may be true, if the song weren't so repetitive and unoriginal. Although there's variation between the thrashing guitar and shouty singing sections and the quieter islands that bridge them, the song never gets very heavy or really takes off, seeming like a pale rip-off.
Though the New Shapes give us some really excellent moments, overall we are left 'waiting for a god' ourselves.
(www.thenewshapes.com)
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