Twisted
Charm + 586
w/ Maxwell's Daemon + Joe Gallacher
28.04.06 @ Purple Turtle, Camden
Tonight, according to the billing, is 'The Night of 1,000 Scenesters' - how is this different from any other Friday night in Camden you may ask - well, for a start there's the scruffy looking man on stage wearing a suit that doesn't quite match his wayward hair. His name is Joe Gallacher, and he makes earnest, heartfelt singer/songwriter music. Usually, that description alone would be more than enough to send me fleeing from the venue, pointing as it often does to Kelly Jones style meat & potatoes blandness. Luckily for us, Joe manages to sidestep these potentially fatal pitfalls, and serves up a charming set that showcases his strong vocal, augmented by some luscious backing vocals from two newly recruited female backing singers, one of whom is making her first appearance tonight. Finishing off with a lighthearted singalong cover of 'I Think We're Alone Now', Joe leaves the stage to generous applause to be replaced by Maxwell's Daemon, who conversely to their predecessor, play exactly the sort of music that I should like - wiry punk with a poppy twist, but lack the charm and individuality to make me care. Dan, who's promoting tonight's gig, tells me that they're the closest that a new band has come to Gang of Four, and perhaps that's their problem - they sound too much like the bands that have preceded them to stand out.
The same couldn't ever be said of 586, who unleash both a literal (via the party poppers that they've distributed generously around the venue) and figurative (through their lipstick smeared glammed up disco-indie tunes) glitter bomb on the gleeful audience. Blinding bubblegum flashes like the fitful genius of debut single 'We Got Bored' are deployed with childlike mirth, and by the huge smiles plastered across their faces, they're enjoying themselves every bit as much as we are.
That's not so say that 586 are limited merely to sugary thrills. The theatrics of 'Rags and Tags' have an almost West Side Story feel to them, and there are traces of everything from music hall to punk, stopping off at britpop and artrock on the way - hell, they even throw in a quick Shed Seven riff on the wonderful 'He's Got My Measure', the b-side to 'We Got Bored'.
586 are shaping up to be that most precious of commodities - a truly creative and original band making music that they love for people who love it even more, and who are intent on having a damn good time while they're at it. Make sure that you catch them soon - don't bring a pocket full of party poppers with you.
