Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in May 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
The Pigeon Detectives / Air Traffic / Cheap Hotel
@ Southampton University, 21st May 2007
It’s not very often I go to a gig and find two queues, one for the over 18s (wrinklies) and one for the under-18s (kiddies). It’s even rarer the kiddies seem to be outnumbering the wrinklies, but that’s what’s happening here. I’m feeling quite old and jaded. This crowd of youths are here for The Pigeon Detectives' rare jaunt to South Coast Central.
First on stage is Cheap Hotel. The girls in the band are carving out an image for themselves as snarling, pseudo-Sapphic types, but there’s a mix of styles. Anna Calvi strides around menacingly in her tight dress and stilettos, striking her battered guitar as if she couldn’t care, all the while scowling through red lips. Bassist Ulli Mattsson, who I think has glitter on her face, balances on one leg in her red jeans with her perfectly layered hair tossing around her know-all grin. The picture is completed by unsmiling Gregg Braden on drums, tossing his drumsticks to one side and putting up with the girls repeatedly bashing the cymbals with their guitars.
They play grungy, sexy blues rock and sound like they’ve improved considerably since I saw them a few months previously. It’s just their mix of dress styles and onstage personalities seem slightly at odds with each other. At the end, Anna simply throws her guitar onto the floor and walks off stage. Half the audience clap but the rest aren’t quite sure what’s going on. Everyone’s divided, but I find them enjoyable.
Air Traffic are next. They're from Bournemouth and supported Mr Hudson and The Library just the previous day in neighbouring Portsmouth, so they have plenty of fans in the screaming crowd. Interestingly, they look like McFly but their songs are more Keane/The Feeling, with even a dash of Queen. The guitars are pretty rocky and the piano is excellent. During one of their songs, the guitarists sling their instruments over their shoulders and start beating away on two large drums, with ‘proper drummer’ sitting like a lemon for half the track before joining in.
‘Charlotte’, ‘Never Even Told Me Her Name’ and ‘Shooting Star’ are amongst the poppy, piano-led tracks which are blasted out. Vocalist/pianist Chris Wall has earplugs in so he can't hear the girls screaming for him, which is just as well because it would have distracted him somewhat. Final track ‘Just Abuse Me’ is particularly mind-blowing. Air Traffic are very good, very good indeed, and their commercial sound suggests fame is just around the corner. They go down almost as well as the headliners, with the crowd clapping for some time after they’ve departed the stage.
It’s the last week of The Pigeon Detectives’ tour, which will culminate in a few sold out gigs at Leeds Town Hall at the weekend. They last played in Southampton in July at the Joiners during the summer heatwave which left everyone crammed in the tiny room sweating their bits off. Today’s venue is considerably larger and Southern crowds are generally less manic - although by the end, dripping with sweat, it’s not much cooler.
Two tracks into their rousing, energetic indie rock and there are already crowdsurfers. Songs tonight include latest b-side ‘Dick’ead’, ‘Can’t Control Myself’, singles ‘Romantic Type’, ‘You Know I Love You’ and ‘I Found Out’.
‘Caught In Your Trap’, the song which usually results in various frilly/giant panties being thrown at the stage, is instead received with a pair of socks, leading singer Matt Bowman to label Southampton the unsexiest city on this tour. ‘Don’t Know How To Say Goodbye’ is his cue to leap into the crowd and sing to a girl who was so excited she screamed loudly in his face.
The band don’t appear too tired despite having played first in Brighton and then up in Preston over the last few days. Everyone is energetic – sometimes a bit too much so, with Matt whacking Oli Main so hard with his mic the poor guitarist writhed around in agony and was seen later that night with a glass of ice pressed against his swollen hand. Bassist Dave Best and guitarist Ryan Wilson bob around on their side of the stage, with Dave occasionally sprinting for the mic and on one occasion missing it.
‘Left Alone’ and ‘Wait For Me’ are also given (reasonably) rare outings, and their raw rockiness is able to get the crowd singing along even if they haven’t heard the tracks before. Album track ‘Stop Or Go’ is also aired, with anyone singing the words being jokingly sworn at for downloading the album illegally.
The bouncers do their best to cool the crowd down by liberally spraying us with what looks like those things you use in your greenhouse to ward off bugs. It’s a fairly good idea and makes a change from a bottle of water being slopped down your top; however if you’re a glasses-wearer then you’re left squinting through a hazy mist, and as soon as it clears they come round again.
Single ‘I’m Not Sorry’, released today and possibly the only reason a few of the crowd bought tickets, gets the biggest cheers and pushing. It’s the final song, which lets the crowd and band give it their all. The Pigeon Detectives detractors claim they’re not doing anything different to the other lad-rock bands, but if it’s not broke why fix it?
It was a brilliant and lively night. Air Traffic are very expressive and the Pigeon Detectives are so full of laddish energy. All that remained was to wipe the sweat from my face, the water mist from my glasses, then it was time to go outside and cool down a bit. Things have got bigger and better for the Pigeons since they were last in Southampton, and they’re still on their way up.
Cheap Hotel
Air Traffic
The Pigeon Detectives
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