Assembly Now are a tipped four piece from south London. They look great, all skinny tops and delicately tousled mopped hair, but there’s something distinctly lacking in the substance. I patiently stand through 30 odd minutes of earnest but unassuming post punk, witnessing the odd flurry of Rakes-ish quirk, the odd Razorlight lighter in the air ballad and the occasional frothy Bloc Party dance moment but it’s all too derivative to get overly excited about. Unfortunately, they tick too many boxes for the lazier elements working in A&R to ignore so expect them to be huge soon…

A band worth getting into a fluster over are the headliners tonight, Yorkshire’s Tiny Dancers. They ooze everything that seeing music performed live should be about. A five piece on a tiny stage littered with oddball props, wearing matching face paint, gaudy ethnic shirts and with a mission to entertain, they deliver the goods in bucket loads. The audience comprises significantly more young females than you’d normally expect for a gig and the reason for their presence in such numbers is clear. The pretty and charismatic vocalist, David Kay, with his poncho and blonde flowing locks may look like he’s been in a time capsule since the late 60s but his manic movements deliver an energetic visual front to the glorious happy clappy tunes; the Byrds, Beach Boys and the two Neils, messrs Diamond and Young, during his country period, are key elements in this wonderful sun kissed fayre. Indeed there’s something semi-messianic about Kay and when he makes a pair of Biggles goggles out of his upturned hands we all join in, smiling like cretins. The singles are warmly received, along with a few more numbers and for the first time in a long, long time I want the gig to go on all night rather than the all too brief 40 minutes. Not bad for a band named after… shudder… an Elton John track.

What's your view? Comment on the Forum

Other discussions on the SoundsXP forums right now...

Spread the word: Email this article

NAT JOHNSON - Interview

BROKEN FAMILY BAND - Live

SLOW DOWN TALLAHASSEE - Live

WAKE THE PRESIDENT - Live

WAVE PICTURES - Live

SCREAMING TEA PARTY - Live

DARREN HAYMAN - Live

SPEEDMARKET AVENUE - Live

BRAKES - Interview

OF MONTREAL - Live