The Noisettes have always had a slight air of difference to the various packs of Brit-indie bands that have come and gone during their surprisingly long march to overnight success, which makes the support act Little Comets’ indentikit indie all the more underwhelming.

When the Noisettes took to the stage they wasted no time in showing exactly what they can do. What they can do, and do do all night, is entertain a crowd. From the opener, ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm’, they have the (slightly polite) audience in the palm of their hand.

They’ve been around long enough to hone their craft and know how to put on a show with a capital S. Almost to the point of parody. Guitar solos continue until played with tongue, the drummer cultivates the hairy wildman shtick to caricature and frontwoman Shingai Shoniwa has a raised mini-stage to dance on and jump off as required.

The problem is that they don’t write great songs. There are some catchy, catchy refrains and choruses, but once you’ve heard one minute of a song, you heard the rest.

Getting her kid brother on to duet with her for a tender number, or heading into the crowd on a roadie’s shoulders for a closing cover of ‘Children Of The Revolution’ is showmanship to applaud, but it better yield them bigger venues before the buzz dies, or they’ll be the one hit filler in the nostalgia tours to hit twenty years from now.

Richard Davie
Photo: Rachel Lipsitz