Errors // Norwich Arts Centre - 12.03.10
If you're expecting three-minute odes to first loves and lost girlfriends, this may not be the night out for you. Things are going to get a bit odd. With three bands the polar opposite of each other on the bill, an open mind is the order of the day.
How do you like your electro? Played by a man in rainbow braces with a sailor hat in a child's play tent covered in lewd graffiti? Thought so. Sukoshi is the rather-disturbing-but-rather-good brainchild of local boy Mark Jennings. With gazebo-sized beats and nightmarishly distorted ramblings emanating from a laptop in said tent, there's a very strong chance something so mind-bendingly eccentric won't be seen again. Just hope your offspring aren't watching, decades of sleepless nights will surely ensue.
Anything that follows is probably going to look quite ordinary in comparison, but that's not say London's Ice, Sea, Dead People are dull, far from it. Their razor-sharp angular riffs are a striking combination of energy and intensity in the vein of Fugazi. With tunes as mammoth as 'Justin Klein', the art-punk scene is definitely alive and well as long as bands like this are in the ascendency.
Glaswegian four-piece Errors are one of indie's best kept secrets. It's fair to say they are a 'cult' band, never really getting much recognition beyond their current fanbase. As they are an instrumental band, they are never going to be blessed with the opportunities of radio play, so shows like this are a golden chance to convert. Having no singer, and a reluctance in the camp to take charge, they are immediately faced with a barrier between them and the crowd. There is an early-set awkwardness, as nobody really knows what to do or where to look without a focal point, for a while it looks as though it could be a case of open goal missed.
Such a problem could see the downfall of other bands, but this is where the strength lies with Errors. Once the uncertainty has subsided their intelligent musicianship really shines through, especially in 'A Rumour In Africa' and 'Salut France!'. Their brand of indie-tronica is so meticulously executed even the greatest of doubters can't help but be impressed. Their own Stephen Livingstone it seems has been won over too, finally breaking down the barriers and declaring 'If you're happy and you know it say fuck yeah...I stole that one from Limp Bizkit!' from the stage before their epic, stagediving finale. That open goal by the way? It's just been scored.
Dale Larwood
