!!! | LIVE REVIEW
The Globe, Cardiff, Wed 1 Aug
There’s not much that’s glamorous about Albany Road on a Wednesday. A place known more for gum on the floor than glitz, a night out in these parts is often more sadface than Studio 54. But somehow !!!, a band of noiseniks led by an ageing hipster in powder blue shorts, managed to turn a hump day at the Globe into a hedonistic New York disco.
It didn’t start off that way. Folks dribbled into the sweltering venue and there wasn’t much of an audience for opening trio Head Noise. A shame, that: their tongue-in-cheek twist on mid-00s electro-punk were worth catching and a bouncy tone-setter for the main event.
By the time they’d left the stage, the venue had filled up with a mixed bag crowd of old-timers and a younger, dungaree-wearing indie set. Though they’re often handed the disco-punk label, !!! have always been a band that shake off genre constrictions – something that becomes apparent when you see their disparate bunch of fans lined up and ready to rave. And that’s their beauty: no matter who you are or what you’re into, their punk-party bangers leave your hips with no choice but to shake.
As the band charge in with their distinctive jarring riffs, dual vocalists Nic Offer and newbie Meah Pace go straight for full throttle with their chaotic, coordinated shimmying. Original frontman Offer swaggers, Jagger-like, through sass-filled grooves NRGQ and Dancing Is The Best Revenge, hopping down every other minute to bust a move alongside his fans. His delivery flickers haphazardly between low drawl, punk yell and confident falsetto, perfectly contrasted by the consistency of Pace’s refined r’n’b vocals.
The songs bounce between soul-inspired hits like Freedom! and spikier offerings from earlier albums. What’s interesting, though, is that !!!’s recent jump towards smoother, more club-friendly sounds isn’t reflected in their live shows. They play the songs but they’re amplified, edgier, drawing more upon their dance-punk origins than the slick electro sounds they’ve embraced on record.
Not that the fans care. By the time Offer utters his final demented yell of the night, everyone is bouncing with a disco sheen of sweat on their brow. They came for a party, and they got one.
words BETTI HUNTER
