Ah, the NME Shockwaves tour – formerly the NME tour, formerly the Brats tour etc etc. The NME’s annual attempt to say “WE PREDICT, IN FACT WE SAY, THESE BANDS ARE THE FUTURE THIS YEAR AND WILL BE HUGE”
I’ve been to about half a dozen of these late January/early February packages and some lineups look hilarious in terms of what would be the next big thing.
1997: Geneva, Symposium, Tiger, Three Colours Red
That was quite a night, I can tell you, or maybe not.
However, Betty does also have a history of missing soon to be famous acts as well, both Coldplay and Florence and the Machine have been opening acts not important enough for me to turn up for, and of course such future stadium shaggers as Stereophonics and The Killers have featured.
So it’s three bands tonight, the much hyped Vaccines having already been and gone on this furiously stormy and wet night so I’d be wise not to try to review them, wouldn’t I? The Academy is pretty full, and the NME’s attempts to be down with the kids appear to have paid off, the average audience member looks about 14 – no beards, as most of them just aren’t capable of even attempting it.
Everything Everything take the stage to screams and chanting – heavy on the bass, and the singer’s high falsetto struggling to stay in tune over the racket. They sound a bit wobbly and are ridiculously young for such a big stage but there’s a lot of confidence, matching boiler suits and some interesting changes of pace and add-ons in the song structures. Mixing straightforward pop with some thrash, quick-fire lyrics and keyboard swirls, it’s a bit Maximo-esque. The crowd love it and they do have some potential, a couple of easy on the eye boyband potential members and a few good hooks.
Next on is Magnetic Man – the stage set up with a massive array of laptops and other electronic paraphernalia, three guys behind the computers and one dreadlocked singer/MC. With the potential to sound like Coldcut, it in fact sounds something like The Prodigy vs Vengaboys, with very predictable call and response raps, a lot of sound affects but nothing much in the way of tunes. The audience are dancing away and the tracks have a lot of energy but the best song of the night is a Katy Perry cover – ’nuff said.
After a longish pause, a roadie (or uncredited NME tour manager, can’t be sure) comes on and confirms that despite their singer buggering her ankle recently, Crystal Castles will be playing, so on they come. What follows is an aural and visual assault per excellence, the three-piece (vocals, drums and keyboards/effect/guitar) blasting their way through a good few tracks from both LPs with a breathtaking gusto. Alice Glass leans alternately on a crutch and on the monitor, going between Ian Dury and Courtney Love throwbacks, as she screeches and yells her heavily treated vocals above the cacophony of gothic rave backdrops. The stookie gets wiggled around and when she can’t jump, she hops.
‘Alice Practice’, ‘Untrust Us’ and ‘Crimewave’ are probably the highlights for me but it really doesn’t let up, in a good half hour with little or no words to the audience. I supposed the closest thing I’m reminded of is Curve at their more hysterical moments, but this is an unholy marriage of bleeps and angst which really is a making all of their own. Uncompromising and dark but hummable and danceable, if this is what the pop kids want then I’m all for it. And the bass drone is the best I’ve ever heard…
- Ibibio Sound Machine - 4 February 2025
- Broken Chanter / Raveloe - 31 January 2025
- Mogwai - 27 January 2025