Band Of Skills.

First off, I shouldn’t be proud of that pun title, but I am.
Secondly, last night I went to see Band Of Skulls at Brixton Academy. The lovely Kate got us tickets promising me that they were one of the best live bands she has ever seen. I think it is worth baring in mind that when she says that she hasn’t seen Arcade Fire, The Libertines, Jack White, Pulp, Radiohead, Bright Eye or The Maccabees live. I count those as some of the best live bands I’ve seen you see.
That aside they were working very much in her favour for winning me over last night. I think the important thing to remember is that it is unusual to see a young British rock ‘n’ roll three-piece. When I say rock ‘n’ roll I don’t mean indie because they are thirteen a dozen at the moment. What I mean is a balls out, high-class riffing, head-banging, feedbacking rock band. There’s no need for anything beyond the three of them, a simple lighting rig and their name as a backdrop. The music well and truly speaks for itself, and I say that as a casual fan, someone who knows the songs but isn’t going to go out and get them tattooed across my forehead.
For a band with only two albums under their belt they can keep a crowd going, and know how to tease out the intro to Light Of The Morning at least twice before deciding to play it in full. While they’re a band who might not be completely comfortable in social situations you put instruments between them and a crowd of thousands and they can really pull it off. They can comfortably play around with the format of songs during a live set and seem to really enjoy what they do and appreciate the bouncing heads and screams lit up before them. They’re a band who should continue from strength to strength. Proof that there is no end in sight for this rock ‘n’ roll fad yet.