The Noisettes Conquer Sheffield!
If there is one band that is destined for super stardom in our new decade (the Tennies? the Teens? Whatever) then it is surely the Noisettes and after an aborted attempt to see them live in action last year I finally got the chance to watch them this week. Let me tell you that I wasn’t disappointed!
The Noisettes are a trio of London origin. Drummer Jamie Morrison, guitarist Dan Smith and of course the all conquering presence of singer and bass player Shingai Shoniwa. Since their inception in the early years of this century their star has been ascending and now their music can be heard on commercial breaks as well as being ubiquitous across the nation’s airwaves.
What I love most about this band is their fusion of musical forms that have been worked almost to death into something new, unique and life affirming. Their albums (second album Wild Young Hearts is still riding high in the charts) are an experimental mixture of punk, blues and dance with more than a hint of Motown thrown in. This is what The Supremes might have sounded like if they had formed in the 21st Century, and compliments don’t come much higher than that!
I had originally planned to see The Noisettes at the Reading Festival in 2007 but circumstances conspired against me, so when it was confirmed that they would be playing at Sheffield’s Carling Academy nothing was going to keep me away. The atmosphere was tangible before the band had taken the stage, and the large audience, younger than the average gig going crowd, had dressed to impress. Beautiful young women in outre outfits attempted to emulate their hero but as soon as The Noisettes entered, to deafening cheers, it was clear that there was only one woman that eyes would be on tonight.
Shingai Shoniwa is the show woman supreme, dominating the stage and holding a magnetic attraction over the crowd. Shingai’s stark and striking make up and retro mini dress were stunning. Her soaring voice was even better live than on record, deeper and imbued with a blues beauty that seems to pierce the heart. She was never still for a moment, dancing wildly around the stage and wielding her bass like a weapon.
Every tune was a winner, but the crowd, myself included, roared out their approval for ‘Never Forget You’ that Shoniwa sang in a slow teasing tempo whilst leaning over a balcony high above her audience. The other undisputed winner was ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go)’, left until the encore and ensuring that the crowd formed one large frenzied dancing creature.
The Noisettes are a band on the top of their game at the moment, supremely confident and with the killer tunes to match. It will be hard to imagine a gig surpassing this one in 2010!
While I am here and actually writing something on this blog, everyone really needs to check out this new enigin PLC site, well worth a read if you have a moment!
February 23 2010 08:44 am | General