Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Hello Saferide made their UK debut last night and i’m not given to random leaps of faith but I had to be there. Even although there’s a Glasgow show tomorrow, it was important to attend. Last time I was at The Water Rats was when Angel Corpus Christi blew through town. A lot of the proverbial has gone under the bridge since then.

Maia Hirasawa opened with a sweet but short set. She’s great and I’d like to hear her with a band. Another guy came on and futzed with his tuning a lot, don’t recall who he was, songs were OK but it was holding up the main event. (Update - He goes under the name, The Fine Arts Showcase and hails from Malmo via Seattle. Thanks to Stacey for the info.)

From the opening slaps of “The Quiz”, it was clear that we were in the presence of greatness. A crisp, clear sound with a confidence and perkiness that counters the bittersweet nature of the lyrics. There were two new songs, one called “Anna” (?) and another called "I Was Definitley made For These Times". I concur! The actuality of the show being better than the high hopes I had was one thing. Witnessing it was positively euphoric. Annika conducts this amazing band, Maia is a perfect foil and the combo is a like seductive pure pop version of The Hives. The brass just made the whole thing soar with a mariachi swing. I’m gushing like a sad fanboy here but it’s entirely justified and if you see them then you’ll feel it too. The projection is almost too big for the small stage that they were packed on to.

Ms Norlin, you are charged with harbouring a blatant disregard for the effect these songs might have on an unsuspecting public. And with malice aforethought the boundless charm of such material is likely to drive grown men and women (who think they’ve heard it all) into fits of complete pleasure.

Maybe I’ll be able to sort out a more reasoned report on tomorrows gig… but don't count on it.
If anybody out there has pictures from the London show then (pretty) please forward a couple…