Noisettes

Friday 23rd October saw the return to Birmingham (in the brand spanking new 02 Academy that’s till makes me swoon with delight every time I go) of Noisettes. I had been eagerly anticipating this gig since seeing the Noisettes only a few months ago at the tiny Bar Academy, which was packed to the rafters with hot and sweaty fans.

If I mention to friends I’m going to see Noisettes, they frown and say ‘Who?’, so in return I explain that it’s the band who sing the Mazda ad song, ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm’, then everything falls in to place.

Before I got to the venue, I had a frustrating adventure – finding somewhere to park! After spending over an hour wading through Friday night city centre traffic there was hardly any parking within the immediate vicinity (unless you want to pay upwards of £10 to an NCP car park). Thankfully I finally found an obliging side street five minutes away that was actually free to park on!

After finally arriving at the venue I managed to get a wicked vantage point on the right of the balcony. As I waited patiently, listening to the support who were so much like Bombay Bicycle Club that I can’t even remember their name, I started to wonder whether the band were going to be able to fill the Academy. I guess only time would tell! In fact by the time Noisettes came on the floor of the venue was packed full of bodies and the seats were filling up as quick as you like. It became absolutely rammed!



As the Noisettes came on stage the black curtain dropped to the floor to reveal glitter ball galore and Shingai in a Gold glitter dress, no shoes and the girliest Pink footless tights on. She was on top of a minute stage of her own blasting out the lyrics to ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm’. The crowd were already whipped up into a frenzy, like sharks after smelling blood from a three mile vicinity.

We were treated to such gems as ‘Wild Young Hearts’, ‘Don’t Give Up’, ‘Saturday Night’, ’24 Hours Ago’ and the Killers classic, ‘When We Were Young’ ,which was showcased originally on the Jo Wiley Radio One Live Lounge and got rave reviews. The whole set was based around the stupendous albums, ‘What’s The Time Mister Wolf’ and ‘Wild Young Hearts’.


The whole show was filled with energy and creative, energetic songs that made the crowd sit up and take notice. If that didn’t work, Shingai’s acrobatic skills certainly did. From out of nowhere a rope ladder was dragged onto stage that lit up like Blackpool illuminations as she climbed it. I was totally dumfounded; it reminded me of seeing Pink earlier in the year!

And if that wasn’t enough, how about some more daredevil stunts? Singer Shingai climbed on to the balcony of the O2 Arena itself and sang to the crowd below. It was totally amazing, but I was scared she would fall... the whole crowd were gasping and standing open mouthed. The applause was endless when she got down safely.


The 15 song set was totally astounding and completely full of electric energy, passion and vigour. It made me want to go for a lie down afterwards as I was exhausted!

The thing I love about this band is they gel together so well on stage and are out of this world live. Shingai’s vocal performances and boundless energy are unreal – it’s almost like she’s been given an electric shock beforehand, or been fed E-numbers via an intravenous drip! Their albums don’t do them justice; I’ve seen them livethree times now and would jump at the chance to see them again, especially as they are so fresh and energetic on stage.

Grab your tickets now and catch the remainder of the UK tour in a city near you.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.