The Ting Tings

Having arrived too late to see the final support act (presumably LadyHawke) we had to wait approximately 20 minutes for the stage to be set up for the headliners. When the lights fell, first to take the stage was Jules De Martino, silhouetted under a single spotlight sporting cheap sunglasses and playing the keys to opening number 'We Walk'. By the time Katie White joins him in black leggings and T-shirt on her Korg Synth. De Martino is behind the drum kit playing guitar and a steady beat on the kick drum.

Duos of a similar format in recent memory include the White Stripes, and Black Keys. However where the former feature stripped back arrangements and blues roots, The Ting Tings use of samples, loops and backing tracks offers a fuller Electro Pop sound. White has a confident presence, prowling around the stage she provides an urgent and energetic performance, strapping on a variety of different guitars throughout the show.



Songs from debut album 'We Started Nothing' are performed including 'Fruit Machine' with its staccato vocals "…you keep playing me, like a fruit machine..." and screams of "...kerching...kerching...". 'Traffic Light' is the obligatory slow tune featuring a simple arrangement of guitars and vocals, White ends the song posed with hands on hips to take in the adulation from the front row. She urges the crowd to dance before 'Be The One', a melodic number featuring the line "What you gonna offer now?". However it is 'Shut Up And Let Me Go' that really gets the young crowd going, complete with White on cow bell.



The duo then leave the stage, and the crowd demand an encore. De Martino returns first to take some photos of the crowd, which is a nice touch suggesting the band still have their feet on the ground. The penultimate track is 'Impacilla Carpisung', with De Martino now on bass guitar duties. In my opinion it is not as strong as the rest of the set and provides an unwelcome dip before 'That's Not My Name', arguably their most well known tune, White pushes over her microphone stand midway through, which is a clear signal there will be no more to come.

I was pleasantly surprised by the bands performance, overall the energy of the live set is unquestionable and the use of backing tracks will always divide opinion, but on the strength of one album they pulled a decent crowd. How they manage to build on this success for album number two remains to be seen.

FUTURE GIGS

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