Last Gang @ Corn Exchange (Brighton)
By Nick Rowan
Last Gang appear on stage at 8.45 sharp and before they even strike the first note the odds seemed stacked against them. They arrive to find a sparsely populated auditorium, no real surprise for a band who (though already signed to a major) are still in their infancy and playing a long way from most of their fanbase in a venue that could probably hold a couple of thousand. The Great Escape festival has twenty two other gigs happening at the same time around Brighton town centre that are probably not going to boost audience numbers either. Yet throughout their relatively short set what impresses most is that Last Gang still forge an atmosphere in a half-empty hall, drawing the crowd forward, impelling them to discard their indifference and rise from their stolen seats around the venue's fringes. Most end up dancing too.
They start out with 'Show Me How', a decent track but one that doesn't quite have the impact needed to grab everyone's attention away from their mobile phones and their timing lists. Those distractions are swiftly forgotten as the band kick in to a run of four or five absolute gems, including 'Love and Hate' and 'Beat of Blue'. Skinny as a waif with a mouth that's apparently fixed in a constant state of pout, frontman Kristian Walker is an almost comically archetypal rock singer. Though his performance does contain hints of assimilation, there's enough of a spark to suggest that Walker and Last Gang could turn in to something quite special.
Compared to The View in the festival programme, which is a backhanded compliment in my book, Last Gang are beginning to seem like the next in line. In their own words, they write "songs that will stay in your head all day, choruses you don't feel a div joining in with". They certainly feel like anthems tonight and if there's further appetite for something else in an early Razorlight / Pigeons mould then these guys could be it. The no-nonsense description, taken from their website, is telling. Although you can take the band out of Yorkshire, the reaction to Walker's introduction of the band suggests the reverse is not the case. "Where did they say they were from?" I overheard a local lad ask. "I don't know, I can't understand a word they're saying either," was the reply.
The band are supporting The Pigeon Detectives at their upcoming dates at the Town Hall, which could be a golden opportunity to make some waves. If they can then there is the trace of a movement beginning to form and somebody better call the NME quick sharp ("What's the tag?" - "How about No-Math Rock?"). Later the Corn Exchange will host Art Brut and in amongst name-checking the rest of the bill from a pocketed flyer, we'll hear Eddie Argos proclaim "Last Gang - Top Of The Pops!". And you know, apart from for the obvious reason, it really didn't seem that bad of a shout. Maybe the only thing they're missing is subtitles.
