SHOW REVIEW: You Am I, The Electric Ballroom, Camden (27/3/09)

Where do I start, Where do I begin
Friday 27th March 2009

Electric Ballroom, Camden

Until now I hadn’t seen any Australian bands play in London. I’ve often thought paying pounds to see bands I can see at home was slightly pointless and I should be immersing myself in British and European culture. But if ever there was a reason to break tradition it be You Am I. Plus I knew a few people from home were going and I hadn’t seen them for an age, and I love Tim Rogers. A lot.

I hadn’t been to Camden for a while and was glad I opted for black jeans and a black cardigan as apparently black is compulsory when walking the streets of this London borough, along with black hair, metal studs, stripes, piercings and a massive chip (burnt until black) on your shoulder. I’m afraid I let the team down on the latter. Once inside the Electric Ballroom however it could have been any capital city in Australia. I did pick a French accent here; a Polish accent there; but most of the audience were Antipodeans. I admit I missed the support act due to a nice glass of white and a vegetarian pho down the road, but if I hadn’t have done my friend Oli and I wouldn’t have scored free tickets from the lovely lady sitting next to us in the restaurant (thanks so much Mel Crawford, I owe you one!). So instead of forking out our hard earned pounds Oli and I took on the guise of Stephen Pritchard +1 and swanned our way through the door. Gracias Mr Pritchard, whoever and wherever you are.

With drinks in hand we watched You Am I take to the stage looking extremely dapper in various vest, neck scarf and trilby hat ensembles – I’m not sure if this was purely for the UK or their normal attire nowadays as I haven’t seen them for nigh on 2 years, but they looked great and their usual fiery spark was ever present. They filled the first ¼ of the set with a good mix of fast and slower paced newbies – apologies for not providing a proper set list but as I mentioned, being out of Oz for almost 2 years has lead me to neglect the Australian music scene somewhat. One thing I can tell you is that Mr Rogers has been practising his dance moves in the mirror, looking somewhat like a cross between Iggy Pop and Steven Tyler he smashed, shimmied and hip-thrusted his way across the stage like a bawdry burlesque dancer, all the while using his axe as a tool of sexual persuasion. And as always has been and forever will be Davey Lane sang to us through those magical finger formations backed by the ever-solid never-swayed rhythm and beats of the mighty Andy Kent and Rusty. You can tell this band has been together forever as their shows are effortless but still full of fire and passion every time.

They made my night complete by playing Cathy’s Clown, Berlin Chair, Purple Sneakers and Mr Milk – cliché I know but they excite me no end! They also threw me for six when in the encore they returned to sing Thank God I’ve Hit The Bottom, as it was the first time I had ever seen them play it and therefore the first time I had ever seen Tim Rogers without a guitar strapped to him - EVER, let alone singing! It wasn’t at all an unpleasant experience but I must admit it unnerved me somewhat. So after a two hour Australian sing-and-dance-a-long You Am I left us to return home with a four-pronged salute and vivacious waves.

Mid-way through their set I accidentally bumped the girl next to me whilst dancing and turned around to apologise, only to find it was a French girl I work with at the Hammersmith Apollo, which was quite random indeed. When I asked how she knew the band she told me she lived with two Australian boys who insisted that she come and see them. She then asked me how well I knew the band which got me to thinking – You Am I were the very first band I went to see at my very first all ages gig, taking place at The Metro Theatre in Sydney. Little did I know then that I’d go on to book both the venue and band throughout various stages of my venue booking career. Funny how it all begins…