It’s a sell-out tonight upstairs at Komedia and the hall is considerably packed. Farewell do a grand job heating the room up, and despite some questionable vocals from their keyboardist, they’re almost perfect. The sound really is crisp in the venue, which makes the likes of ‘Zelda, First One on the Blog‘ and a rather lovely semi-acoustic version of ‘War‘ sound impeccable. For an opening act they had a pretty long set too, which was extremely pleasing.
I must admit, I don’t know Houston Calls all that much. They’re one of those bands that I enjoy on occasion, but never got really into them, for no specific reason really. After tonight’s performance, they’ll be hitting my speakers a lot more frequently, as they really do impress. Tom Keiger’s vocals are frankly extraordinary, and he’s got a range that I don’t think their recordings ever really lets on to. They’re entertaining to watch, and keyboardist Okie Okamoto is a real livewire. After another sizeable set, ‘Bob and Bonnie’ ends proceedings on a high note and the crowd is suitably satisfied.
So, to You Me At Six then. The show comes at a time when ‘Take Off Your Colours’ has been out long enough for the crowd to be lyrically perfect on every song, and tonight really is a sing-along. Josh looks comfortable as a frontman, and the band as a whole look, feel and sound like veterans. They perform pretty much all of the album, with old culprits ‘Save it for the bedroom’ and ‘Gossip’ getting the biggest rises. The real highlight though was when Josh’s sister comes on stage to add her vocal talents to the harmonies on ‘Always Attract’. It works so well, and makes the whole affair seem personal and intimate. Overall, You Me At Six seem to have the world at their feet at the moment, and it’s shows like this that make you feel they’re every bit deserving of their success so far.