This post was originally written for Hypewriter
The NME awards tour happens every year, and attending it is somewhat of a rite of passage for NME fans and alternative music lovers. Every year it gives a chance for NME to showcase some brilliant new, upcoming, and growing artists.And to see 4, usually fabulous, bands for only about 20 quid is a nice bargain. However I have to admit this year I was a little skeptical. While some of the acts on the bill are brilliant (Peace, Palma Violets, Miles Kane), I wasn’t sure about Django Django headlining. Django Django make some great music, however I wasn’t sure how strong they would be as a headliner. While The NME tour isn’t exactly Top of the Pops, previous headliners for the tour such as Two Door Cinema Club, The Maccabees, and once upon a time, The Killers, could be argued to be much more accessible. Despite that, I knew people who had rated them pretty well live so it would be interesting to see how they performed, and if their live set would provide something different from their recorded tracks.
Peace opened the set at 7.20, and were a nice opening act to wake up the crowd. The band walked on dressed in clothes which spoke of a retro 70’s hippy look, perfectly suited to the bands name. They played some tracks from their ‘Delicious’ EP and newer single ‘Wraith’, however they also played loads of newer songs which I can only presume will be from their upcoming album, opening and closing the set with lesser known songs. While this is expected, as they want to advertise their upcoming album on the tour, it would have been nice for their set to be opened and/or closed with songs from ‘Delicious’, rather than offering songs fans didn’t really know yet. However, they sounded pitch perfect, and their high quality sound present in their recordings was not compensated live.
Next up was Palma Violets. If Peace were the band to start the night and grab the crowds attention, Palma Violets were the band to get the crowd jumping, moshing, and singing (or shouting) along. The band walked on looking ridiculously disorganized, and a bit lost. But it worked for them. They provided a nonchalant attitude which matched their punky music. Palma Violets opened with a song which, from the reaction of the crowd, apparently only a few die-hard fans knew, offering a sample of what we can expect to hear on their new album. Palma Violets proved that they are definitely a live band. Their brash tones and deep voices were meant to be heard live. This was matched with a great stage presence, with the two singers using the space of the stage to their benefit. Half way through their set Palma Violets played ‘Best of Friends’, followed by ‘Step Up for the Cool Cats’, arguably their two most well known songs, which sufficiently got the crowd going. Finishing their set on ‘14’, Palma Violets had prepared the crowd for the rest of the night successfully. They’re a band I would definitely recommend seeing live, especially while they are still relatively small. The only way they could have been better is if they had played in a smaller venue, allowing for a more intimate experience.
The third act on was Miles Kane. Before I saw him live I thought that maybe he should of been last on the bill instead of Django Django. After seeing him live, I knew this. Miles Kane delivered the kind of performance that was worthy of finishing a show. This was evident even after only playing one song. Opening with ‘Give Up’, he had everyone singing along to the lyrics ‘you’re pretty, good looking, but i’m looking for a way out’. He induced plenty of crazy dancing, moshing and jumping. There wasn’t a single still body in the building. Miles Kane’s distinct, 90’s indie sound and look was completely unpretentious, and he protruded pure fun and talent within his set. He played a good mix of new songs and better well known songs such as ‘Inhaler’. Closing the set with ‘Come Closer’, he kept the song going for as long as possible, and totally engaged with the dedicated crowd.
Miles Kane was so good, in fact, that as soon as he and his band walked off the stage, about half, maybe even more, of the crowd walked out. Clearly, most people had only come to see Miles Kane, proving that maybe NME had got it a bit wrong with the order of their bill. Even if people hadn’t come to the gig just to see Miles Kane, it wasn’t too surprising. After such an incredible performance, I found myself questioning how anyone could top it. It was the sort of performance which you hear at the end of a gig and leave on a complete high.
Nevertheless, some dedicated Django fans stayed, and I’m sure were glad of the better view of the stage from half the crowd clearing out. Admittedly, Django Django did dispel some of my worries. Django Django had clearly made an effort with the image they protruded on stage. They were dressed uniformly, and had made use of clever visuals at the back of the stage and a great use of lighting, yet the visuals didn’t obscure the performance at all, which a lot of bands don’t manage to pull off. Django opened with Hail Bop, a safe opening choice. Django Django had a great and unique use of instrumentals,such as tambourines and maracas. There was also a greater use of synths present than in their album, which gave their live performance a more ‘dance-y’ sense. My main worry was that they’d be a bit dry live, but the use of electronics made them a good band to dance to. Django Django’s performance really grew after ‘Cairo’. There was a great mixture of synths and drum beats. The microphone had an echoed effect, giving a new dimension to the sound.
Despite Django Django being better live than I expected, they still failed as a headliner of the tour. Of course, after seeing Miles Kane, anything would be a bit of a let down, but I really found Django Django’s performance quite boring. While their electronic elements gave a ‘dance-y’ and lively feel, and while the use of instruments gave a unique live listening experience, I couldn’t get in to it at all. ‘Default’ was their high point, and a firm favourite amongst the crowd, yet after that I felt myself willing the end of their set to hurry up, which is something I’ve never felt before. All the other artists that performed are acts I would make an effort to go out of my way to see again, but as for Django Django, I can imagine enjoying them from the sidelines at a festival, when not much else is going on, but they don’t suit headlining the NME tour, especially when the supporting acts were, quite frankly, much better.
