The Lovebirds / The Wave Pictures Live at The Half Moon

Last Thursday night I trotted along to the regular folk night at The Half Moon to catch The Lovebirds do an acoustic set. I was apprehensive about the venue as I’ve been to the pub itself on a few occasions and whilst it does have a certain friendly charm, it is a little cramped and some of the events have been badly organised. I was pleased to be proven wrong – the live room was intimate, spacious and had a good sound to it whilst the locals and regulars created a great atmosphere providing many (drunken) amusing moments during the evening. I look forward to trying the Catapult Club night there to see how it compares to the Amersham Arms.

I was also admittedly apprehensive about The Lovebirds for several reasons. Firstly the front woman couldn’t make it due to a nasty virus that seems to be doing the rounds at the moment, secondly because the band has recently acquired a new rhythm section and this was the first time they were to play together and thirdly because I love what I’ve heard of the band so far and I was worried the energy in the songs may not translate so well to an acoustic set. Again, I was wrong. The trio provided a fantastic performance with great character. In the clubs relaxed, close atmosphere the tracks took on a slightly different persona with less of the punk-rock spunk you hear on the recordings, instead transforming into fantastic raw R ‘n B pieces.

Also worthy of a mention are The Wave Pictures. Again one of those bands whos MySpace recordings don’t get across their live show too well, they played some great pop tracks interrupted by hilarious banter. They have a great attitude and are well worth catching live if you can.

Listen to The Lovebirds here.

Listen to The Wave Pictures here.

~ by Sleeping With The NME on March 18, 2007.