The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
On the way into the Scala, a guy hands me a big woollen sock. A little further on, his mate hands me another sock.
“What are these for?” I ask.
“This is the Scala” he replies “You might as well stuff these in your ears, cos you ain’t gonna hear a fucking thing!”
That didn’t happen, but you get my point. The sound mix in the venue tonight is utterly appalling and that I and everyone here has a great time is despite rather than because of the conditions that the bands play under.
First on tonight are Casablanca. They must be named after the rather disappointing in real life Moroccan sea port because they seem way too young to be familiar with the film. Hell, they are so young that they probably think that Avatar is a fairytale recounted to them by their parents. Even their other inspiration, Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, must seem like a distant father figure.
They are dressed in leather coats and look rather as if they have just trudged in off the moors. They are slight in stature and curly of hair. Hobbitses they are.
Actually, a pretty decent band is what they are. Singer Jacob hangs from his microphone and croons songs of love and loss. He has fierce little eyes and a winning smile.
The band never quite reaches sufficiently happy highs or affecting lows, but occupies a musical middle ground that is perfectly acceptable. I quite like these guys, and from what I can see, so does everyone else. Ones to watch. (Although if you were previously aware of an outfit called Lo-Fi Culture Scene, you may recognise them in their new guise).
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour are here tonight in support of their new album “Out Of Frequency”. Their first effort was a pop masterpiece that provided the soundtrack for advertising campaigns around the world and, on the evidence of tonight, the new collection of songs is going to be equally ubiquitous.
There are many band members, and most of them play more than one instrument. It makes for a riotous performance.
Singer Mette is togged up in classic fashion as a sexy 60’s pop sensation. She slinks around the stage rasping in her unique vocal style that is part way between Cyndi Lauper and a cartoon character. She’s definitely an acquired taste, but her voice works incredibly well in this context.
This band can swing like Sinatra as a pumping full-on brass section lends oomph to old favourites like ‘Around The Bend’ or ‘The Sun Ain’t Shining No More’’.
The new album gets a good airing. ‘Heart Attack’ bounces along and title track ‘Out Of Frequency’ sports a Ron Burgundy-esque jazz flute solo.
That the band are brilliant is all the more remarkable in light of the awful sound mix. Every song has to fight through a muddy stodge. When the band plays keyboards, all that can be heard is a feedbacking distorted bass rumble. It’s like listening to the best band in the world play on the other side of a wall.
The sheer vim, vigour and joi de vivre of Asteroids Galaxy Tour wins the day. We’re all laughing and jumping, lost in a whirl of parping brass and good vibes. The band concludes with ‘The Golden Age’. Now if only that were used in an advert...
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Around The Bend - Live from Cinematze on Vimeo.
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