Chikinki @ Cockpit
By Andy BuchanBeing first on the bill is never an enviable task.
This point is emphatically made by the demonstrative display from tonight's headliners Chikinki, replete with the most hyperactive and manic lead this side of Axl Rose and Wayne Coyne's illegitimate love child.
However, first band Solo are content to leave the histrionics to the others, preferring instead to visibly move the crowd with their blend of baggy dance-infused rock. Clearly borrowing their impetus and drive from The Music, Solo brilliantly live up to their name, defining themselves with sweeping, amphetamine fuelled guitar crescendos borrowed from Oasis via God Speed You Black Emperor.
Whilst some songs fail to hit their peak, notably the slower paced "Complicated," the explosive guitar rhythms of set closer "Oh no" ably display their musical dynamism. However, although the band did reach the exalted heights set by Robert Harvey and his Kippax crew, some of Solo's more ambitious moments were deflated by rather one paced drumming.
This was a slight criticism compared to what could be levied against the second band tonight, Cope. Fronted by a keyboard playing, Tim Burgess wannabe, the band sit uncomfortably between discarded Black Grape B-sides and a Phoenix Nights House band. The singing is woefully out of tune, reminiscent of Ian Brown at his Reading 96 nadir, whilst the relentless chugging of the rest of the band inspires nothing more than a rush to the bar. When the lead intones "there's no feeling any more" during last song, "No love any more," you can't help but agree to both statements.
Thankfully Chikinki take to the stage, quickly replacing the lethargy of Cope with the boundless enthusiasm of musically experimental youth. Blending Add N to X synth grooves with all out punk mayhem, tonight's headliners manage to stay the right side of musical eclecticism. Fronted by Rupert, a beguiling mix of Axl Rose and Jarvis Cocker, the energy from the band sadly doesn't fully translate to the below capacity crowd.
Happily, this does not deter the band, as they quickly lose themselves in a blur of pounding rhythms and atmospheric feedback, generating a sound reminiscent of Radio 4 at their most edgy. Best of the bunch was current single "Assanitator 13," which saw the band at their most louche, eschewing the frenetic amphetamine fuelled noises which over-complicated some songs, in favour of more accessible electronic gems.
The final song of the night, "I like to fuck" sees the band reach a musical and energetic peak. With various parts of the drumkit distributed round the band, Beta Band style, the end result is a Josh Wink inspired crescendo of pulverising beats. Leaving the stage to a wall of feedback and a heavily distorted guitar solo straight out of Back to the Future, the reception from the crowd is one of bewilderment and awe.
