Tennis – Cargo, London – 7/7/11
4/5
By: Joe Daniels
Given that their debut album is essentially a concept record about a sailing holiday the husband and wife duo that make up Tennis took, it’s hardly surprising that the nautical whimsy is palpable from the off tonight. Opening with ‘Seafaerer’, the agenda is set: man the decks and hoist the rigging, we’re going sailing on a sea of adorably summer-sweet pop.
The cute-as-a-button couple that make up Tennis are on jovial form throughout, with singer/organist Alaina Moore mocking her guitarist/husband Patrick Riley’s shortcomings as a singer and spouse. It’s a winning formula, coddling the crowd into the same cutesy, loved-up state as the performers. They’re a band armed with more than just a serious charm offensive though, with blissed-out summery sing-alongs to ‘Take Me Somewhere’, ‘Baltimore’, and ‘Marathon’ proving just how romantic coastal pop can be when its being sincere. The biggest swells in the crowd, though, are reserved for album title-track ‘Cape Dory’, which sees every boyfriend grab his girlfriend by the hand, ready to fall in love all over again.
There’s also a smattering of new songs, with ‘Robin’, ‘Little Virgin’, and ‘Hard Times’ each suggesting an increased rate of knots and a loosened grip on the tiller – that’s faster, less seasonal pop for those not following these scurvy-inducing metaphors.
The band, not expecting any demand for an encore return to the stage, humble-as-anything, to play a cover of Brenda Lee’s ‘Is it True?’. Unrehearsed, it’s far from note-perfect but that doesn’t make it any less endearing. Shuffling off stage, clearly touched, Alaina and Patrick have been won over by the crowd, and the crowd by them. How romantic!
SETLIST: SEAFARER/TAKE ME SOMEWHERE/ROBIN/PIGEON/BALTIMORE/MARATHON/LITTLE VIRGIN/CAPE DORY/BIMINI BAY/LONG BOAT PASS/WATER BIRDS/SOUTH CAROLINA/HARD TIMES
Artists in this article: Tennis
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