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The Circus Sands at OSC
The best thing about being the opening act on a night is once you’ve done your thing, you can kick back, relax, enjoy the beers from the rider and absorb the rest of the evening with a self-satisfied look on your face, if you were any good. Wednesday night at the Oakford Social Club I did just that (well, I don’t suppose it’s for me to say whether I was any good or not, but at the risk of reviewing myself, seven out of ten?) and the bands I absorbed were, to my delight, Belladonna and The Circus Sands.
Belladonna are two riot grrrls from Darlington who play punky fuzzy (puzzy?) pop with all the right Brodi Dalle/Hole references, obligatory 2009 synthy bleeps and fishnet stockings thrown in for good measure. The Oakford crowd were rather lukewarm to begin with but after a while things got moving and by the end I even saw some feet tapping, a sure sign of approval if ever there was one. Singer Claire Hill’s voice became more and more strained and raw as the set progressed which was actually bloody cool, and fair play to them for driving all the way down from County Durham to play to a half full Oakford.
By the time The Circus Sands came on however, the place had filled up. Apparently, that’s what this lot do to a venue, they bring it alive. I had been gushed at by everyone I’d spoken to about them all night – their manager even went so far as to tell me they were the best band in Britain. I was about to find out. Yes I lost my Circus Sands virginity on Wednesday, and I tell you what – they weren’t gentle with me.
Generally, if you want rock n roll, who do you turn to? Mick and Keef that’s who, and that is certainly where Corky, Hallett and co have their radars firmly fixed. Chunky bass-lines, lazy, echo’d, feedback-laden guitars and songs about shagging and drinking; if you want rock n roll in 2009, you turn to The Circus Sands.
This was the band’s first Reading gig since the addition of Alex Turner lookalike Jake Ambridge on guitar and they seemed to thrive off the freshness that he has brought them. Indeed, the best songs of the night were the two newies, set closer “You Don’t Love Me” in particular outshone everything else with its yearning vocals, druggy rhythmic drone and relentlessly hypnotic guitar line. If this is the direction the band are headed then big things do indeed beckon.
Johnny Arrow
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We LURVE TCS, and if you do too, come over to the Reading Purple Turtle on December 17th, where you can enjoy them again! (oh, and us too!)
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