Gigs

Gig Review: Holloways

Venue: Junction, Cambridge
Date: 20 September 2007

The Holloways emerge to the theme from Knight Rider and the somewhat boisterous crowd react by lobbing various objects onto the stage. Is this some kind of strange ritual? Lead singer, Alfie Jackson, reacts to it in good humour picking up a shoe and giving it a sniff before commenting on its particular aroma. The first number is reeled out and all is looking rosy until a stray ice-cube is launched through the air and catches Alfie smack in the face. He spins away, the music dies, and a hush descends. There’s a dramatic pause before he swivels back to face his tormentors and quietly whispers into his microphone. “Good shot, I think we’ll start that song again”. The band starts back up and all is well again.

Surrounded by hanging BBC weather symbols, an obvious reminder of their new album artwork, the London quartet has clearly enjoyed their rider a little too much. Alfie toys with the crowd as he staggers around gesticulating. A wag at the front cries for the band to sing new single, Two Left Feet, which is met with a playful “Do you literally want two left feet? You should be careful what you wish for!”

The flamboyance of the music is infectious with the roots of the music firmly embedded in folk but with the accessibility of chart pop. They’re very reminiscent of Dexy’s Midnight Runners, landing somewhere in between Madness and The Levellers. All their most memorable numbers feature the rather-battered fiddle of Rob Skipper and he thrashes at it easily as hard as he does his guitar.

As the band rattle through Our Contented One and Diamonds And Pearls it becomes clear that these aren’t just throw away songs. Every number is getting a huge cheer and the pit at the front is seething with surfing bodies throughout. The only pause is whilst we happily applaud the bassist for playing with three broken ribs. It’s no surprise to learn he’s on some hefty painkillers and is “a bit fuzzy”. Monster hit single, Generator, is saved for the encore, getting the biggest cheer of the night. It’s a massive sing-along and as the band departs they jump all over each other in utter delight. They’ve loved the surreal mayhem tonight easily as much as the fans.

Band links = The Holloways

Review commissioned by Music-Zine.

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