The Spinto Band, Air Traffic - Camden Dingwalls, London - 12/7/06
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
The World Cup, The Oscars, Top of the Pops... lots of things can make a 21 year old feel rather aged these days. The youth seem so much more motivated than when I were a lad - or perhaps I was just never that bothered. One thing's for sure, I'm gonna push my kids to the limit - they could star alongside Scarlett Johansson, knock out Argentina... or support the absolutely bloody wonderful Spinto Band. They'll thank me when they're this age.
Air Traffic are so fresh faced that you start to wonder whether there might be something slightly illegal about gazing at them so intently for so long. Their sound for the most part shares parallels with the your Keanes and you Snow Patrols, hammering with intent and melodic purpose at a glimmering keyboard, but whilst those two acts we use as comparison already look to be settling all too comfortably in to middle age, Air Traffic suggest, especially in their moments when the 'board is substituted for the most tinny and abused of guitar sounds for a more rampant rock workout, that such a fate might never befall them. Their mistakes - e.g. bizarrely restraining themselves to their somewhat uninspiring keyboard compositions when their six stringed experiments yield far more impressive results - can be put down to the innocence of youth. Let's allow them to grow up.
Far from long in the tooth themselves are The Spinto Band, seemingly unable to escape London for more than a few weeks at a time, they return tonight to play their biggest headline show in the capital to date. On this evidence, they should consider a residency - frankly, both aurally and visually, they're one of the most jubilant live experiences one could hope to witness.
Let's start with what first hits you - the way it looks - not the way they themselves appear, as that's a rather uninteresting spectacle of lumberjack shirts, baggy jeans and erm, spectacles - but the way they look as an outfit, the way they cannot physically stand still, the way that a good few of them seem to spend the entire set running on the spot. They look like lunatics. They sound like a punk rock Beach Boys.
Really, if you're going to focus solely on melodic music, at least have the decency to play it like this - as if you're so excited about the next massive chorus or jaunty little riff that you can't quite play through the itself-laudable verse fast enough for want of getting right to it. Whilst in 'Nice & Nicely Done' they have a charming debut, it's one full of promise rather than answers. Those solutions are something the live set really supplies in earnest - yes they can hold the attention for over an hour, no it's not at all flimsy or slight, yes the new songs can stand proudly alongside beloved, first LP highlights such as the rapturously received 'Oh Mandy', hammering 'Mountains' and itching powder beat monster of 'Did I Tell You?'
Beautiful - 'Direct To Helmet' prompts swoons, 'Crack The Whip' elicits sways, the smiles on the faces could not be more genuine. Quirky - kazoos are blown on a fantastic 'Brown Boxes', monkey noises indulged in for 'Trust Vs Mistrust', Tiffany's 'I Think We're Alone' is given a Spinto makeover for the finale. And for an hour or so, I am resigned to never winning the World Cup, and just grin like Cheshire cat.
For the geeks (like myself), a Spinto-setlist: So Kind Stacey, Trust Vs Mistrust, Crack The Whip, Did I Tell You?, Late, Cat's Pyjamas, Direct, Alphabetical, Mountains, Franco Prussian, Oh Mandy, Airport, Brown Boxes, Spy Vs Spy...ENCORE...Japan is an Island, I Think We're Alone Now.
Photo Credit: Charlie Mines
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment