We Are Scientists @ Birmingham Academy – 18th April 2008
For many bands, decent banter between songs at their gigs is a bonus and certainly not to be expected – it’s one thing to sit and craft a clever lyric, but a witty, off-the-cuff comment is a much trickier proposition.
Not for We Are Scientists though, you get the impression that the banter is their raison d’etre – just check out their website for agony uncle advice, an alternative Queen’s speech and other comedic delights. Between songs tonight there’s no topic too fanciful – Keith Murray and Chris Cain’s double act encompasses water beds, the support act’s lawn mowing services and much in between. You’d almost be forgiven for not noticing there’s a drummer and keyboard player on stage.
I’ve often wondered why the same playfulness can’t be found in their songs. I’m not saying they don’t have some enjoyable tracks in their arsenal – the sell-out crowd’s singing, shouting and bouncing showed they have plenty of those. It’s just that their clowning around masks the songs’ often quite downbeat subject matter.
Not that the songs’ subject matter is of much concern in a live setting when it’s wrapped in crowd-pleasing, begging-to-be-pogoed-to indie rock. The hits from the first album generated the most commotion, especially ‘It’s A Hit’, ‘Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt’ and ‘Cash Cow’. Of the new tunes, ‘After Hours’ saw one of the support band, Oxford Collapse, joining them on guitar and ‘Lethal Enforcer’ stood out with it’s killer chorus.
Last time I saw the Scientists the encore was an impassioned karaoke singalong to the Boys 2 Men, er, classic ‘End Of The Road’. This time they played it reasonably straight and fired off an aggressive ‘The Great Escape’ to send the crowd bouncing off into the night.
Review – Chris Unitt
Photos – Michelle Owen