SuggestiON-AIR: Great band / poor performers...
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Calvin Harris has decided to quit performing liveÌýsaying in the Herald Sun that, "I'm not a singer, I'm not trained. Taking it onto the stage in front of people was terrifying...I never lost the terror". So it got us thinking about thos acts you absolutely love on record, but they justÌýlook awkward or don't cut it live.
Let us know your pick by shouting us here, onÌýthe orÌý and we will give y'all a shout on the show tonight...
Hot Chip - Summer Festivals (2010)
Rigsy - ATL Presenters
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As a fan of spectacle, of bright lights, gimics and shiny things, I like to see my favourite dance acts make a little effort. Whether they're climbing inside an enormous pyramid like Daft Punk or being dwarfed by mind mangling visuals like The Chemical Brothers - it doesn't matter - as long as they're making an effort to cover up the fact they're just geeks hitting the occasional button and waving their arms about a bit. With dance music, a little spectacle is an obligation.
Disappointing then that for Oxegen and Electric Picnic, the otherwise excellent Hot Chip just...turned up. Yes they're playing live and that's great and everything, but other than a few vocals it's still just five blokes who look like vaguely whacky geography teachers all in a row behind a load of keyboard stands. Needless to say I got bored very, very quickly.
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Sunset Rubdown - ÌýDublin (2008) & Belfast (2009)
Amy McGarrigle - ATL Content Assistant
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I was IN LOVE with this band form the moment I put on their album, 'Shut Up I'm Dreaming'. Being the side project of Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug, I was always gonna give them a good listen. The albums are proggy, baroque indie rock. I first took a trip to Dublin's Crawdaddy in 2008 to catch them after a mild obsession for a couple of years. But it left me cold. It was the end of their tour and they just seemed exhausted and it all got lost in a muffled noise.
But when they announced they'd play Belfast the next year, I had to go and give them a second chance. Surely it was just an off day in Dublin, because I've heard good reports about their live shows. Oh dear. "Half Hearted" was the term I used in a review of the Spring & Airbrake gig, "paddling in a pool of reverb [and] instruments [were] floating around aimlessly". Once again, it didn't work. Which lead me to believe that Sunset Rubdown, make incredibly complex, intriguing albums but simply can't pull it off live.
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Echo and the Bunnymen, Electric Picnic, 2009
Steven Rainey - ATL Buddy
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This was truly Ìý"The Day the Music Died." After pulling off one of the most spectacular comebacks in living memory, the Bunnymen seemed hell-bent on squandering every gain they'd made. And this all came to a depressing nadir onstage in Stradbally as they churned out a lacklustre "greatest hits" set which left the faithful wondering why they'd given their devotion in the first place.
A model of growing old disgracefully, The Bunnymen used to be the coolest band in town, Now they're that embarrassing uncle that dances at parties.
Jack Penate - Belfast 2007
Phily Taggart - ATL Content Assistant
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When Jack Penate’s debut album Matinee came out, the UK was knee deep in a mire of average guitar indie bands, many have argued the same case for Jack Penate but not I. Penate wrote very heartfelt songs, sang them with a soaring vocal seeped in sincerity and most importantly the guy could bust a move.
Disappointment and mild anger set in when I went to see the chequered shirt dandy at the Spring and Airbrake in 2007. I begged two close friends to come with me, even to the point of buying them their tickets. We were welcomed with a guitar tone so horrible it made my ears feel like wilting and falling of my head. The band weren’t exactly air tight in their performance and Jack Penate looked like he hadn’t seen a bed in a few days. The night was nicely summed up when we were shushed by a punter. My friends hated me after this gig and probably still do. Thanks Jack.
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