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Selling out the Academy when you've only been around for a year and a bit and only have one album to your name is no mean feat. That said, the year and a bit that La Roux have been around for has certainly been busier than most, and the one album that they do have is certified platinum, complete with a couple of top five singles to boot, so maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised to see the Academy absolutely packed tonight.
Opening up is Jamie Woon, who puts on what has to be one of the least interesting performances I've seen in a long time. There's no doubting that he's got a strong and soulful voice, but the extremely minimal backing track, combined with the total lack of crowd interaction (or movement of any kind for that matter), result in a crushingly dull show, which is reflected in the lacklustre response he elicits from the crowd.
Luckily for Jamie, it wasn't just down to him to warm up the crowd. Next up is I Blame Coco, who liven up proceedings no end, with a spirited set of relentless electro-pop rock. Lead singer Coco (AKA Sting Jr.) visibly brims with energy as she bounds around the stage, all the while affecting some intriguing shadow-boxing dance moves and belting out every note with serious intent. There are definite echoes of father's voice in Coco's, to the extent that at certain points I was waiting for a “ROOOOOOXANNNNNEE!”, but the comparison ends there. A lot has already been made of the singer's lineage, but it shouldn't detract from just how entertaining a lot of I Blame Coco's stuff really is.
Up until about 9pm, you wouldn't have thought tonight was sold out, but by the end of I Blame Coco's set, the crowd has grown noticeably bigger, and once the naff electric drums start and the highly-coiffed Elly Jackson makes her way out on stage for La Roux's opening track, 'Quicksand', the Academy has basically turned into a heaving sea of screaming bodies, and stays that way for pretty much the entire show.
As you would imagine, the set basically consists of La Roux's one album played in full, although not necessarily in order, and with a cover of the Stones' 'Under My Thumb' thrown in to break things up a bit. Personally, I'm not a fan of the band, and even after giving them a chance in the live setting, I don't think I'll ever be; however, I can sort of understand why they've gained the following that they have. You can't really fault Elly's enthusiasm on stage, and I'll concede that there's something rather catchy about a lot of the band's material, but I just can't get past the cheesy 80s music and just how shrill Elly's voice often is. That said, there's probably about 2,500 people in the Academy who would tell you otherwise, and as the night draws to a close with 'In For the Kill' and 'Bulletproof' (obviously), you can tell that at least the La Roux faithful have had their fun.
Picture by Gemma Louise Harris TAGS: La Roux, I Blame Coco, Jamie Woon, Words by: Mike Perry |
