commonpeople1 | Siblings of Both Genders (Reply)

Sons and Daughters - photo by hidden_shine. More here.

Sons and Daughters played ULU last night, supported by hype-band-of-the-moment Black Kids, and Fangs. By the time Kevin and I arrived, I was nicely tanked from a couple of pints drunk around the corner from Russell Square Tube. Silky Bonaduchi was there to stamp our wrists with stars and usher us into the world of student unions.

It's criminal that students (and everyone else) get charged £2 for checking in their coats. It should be no more than £0.50.

Fangs had just stepped on stage when we arrived; they played the kind of racket that leaves audiences indifferent, pushing them towards the bar. When they were over, we mistakenly thought Sons and Daughters were next. We stood through Black Kids' set instead, which wasn't as bad as the washed out acoustics and nearly mute mics made them out to be. We could pick a faint hint of The Cure mixed with Robert Plant, a groove to their sound that possibly translates better on record. You be the judge.

We were close to the stage, central, by the time Sons and Daughters came on. The singer wore a purple T-shirt/dress over black panties, Patti Smiths' face emblazoned. Immediate brownie points. A slow track starter was a deceiving trick to play on an audience later assaulted by fast, dancey numbers. They meshed The Clash circa Combat Rock with garage rock from the 60s, and some 70s glam too. One track in particular had me bouncing around in a manner that would make Marc Bolan proud, though current single "Darling" failed to sparkle.

I noticed three strange things: there was a lack of little girls (the ones you usually find at gigs, jabbing their way to the front in the hopes of seeing something); a not-unpleasant perfume hung over the crowd; and many of those standing quite close to the stage were as stiff and still as security guards. To me, the whole point of being close to the stage is to dance - hell, even at the back I'd be bopping along to their sound! - but these people wouldn't budge even as I stirred up a storm within my little bubble, shoulder to shoulder with them.

It wasn't a mind blowing gig, but it definitely injected fun into my Tuesday night and made me curious about their latest CD.