(Written months ago, yet hidden away in the drafts folder til now)
London activites have taken a place on the back burner of late as work seems to have taken over my life somewhat. However I managed to make it to an impromtu gig in the dark depths of Borderline, off Tottenham Court Road, to see an American band who have just released their debut album. Young The Giant have the sort of energy on stage that makes you want to get right on up there and bang some pots and pans together just to be a part of the jamboree going on on stage.
Described as Alternative Rock, a which really gives you very little sense of what they are about, this fivesome have a powerful, epic sound that would be just as effective on a big stage at a festival as it was on a small stage in a cosy London Venue. In fact, at times it was a case of too many big fish on a small stage as there were a few heart stoppping moments when it looked as thought the lead singer was going to be delivered a hefty black eye by the enthusiastic guitar thrusting of the lead guitarist.
Sameer the lead singer has an incredible voice; sometimes sounding like Brendan Flowers, sometimes making long strong notes, and sometimes singing with a beautiful softness that shows his voice can do more than just create these loud and slightly ethereal sounds made even more echoey by the help of a special mic.
Despite being officially indie, the bassline created by the lively drummer and the addition of an energetically handled tambourine by Sameer, throughout the entire gig I was jigging up and down in a manner more in keeping with a gypsy swing gig than a rock one. For me Young the Giant managed to pull off the right amount of rock to enthuse the crowd with power, but for those of us that would not normally choose to go to a full out rock/indie gig, they had the energy, quirkiness and musical variety to keep my bouncing until the last chord struck and the band bounced off stage with the same energy they entered with.
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