Club Velocity

Tortured yelps and screams emerge from the only oven in Reading with an entertainment licence. The Rising Sun Arts Centre has always exaggerated temperatures both hot and cold, but tonight it is ridiculous – the former squat has no air conditioning and boarded-up windows for that stuffy feel. Normally on a night like tonight, attendances suffer, but this is no normal night: Look Look (Dancing Boys) are in the house, and they're going to play every song they have.

Only, they’re not really ‘playing’ as such, more taking the helm of a musical fiasco. The female duo’s concept couldn’t be simpler: take one guitar, give it the muddiest sound you can think of, play only power chords on it (roughly in time) and get your partner to yell punky vocals over a drum machine backing track, occasionally wielding a cheap keyboard which is played whilst kneeling on the floor in the absence of a stand. It doesn’t matter if it sounds terrible, because the vocalist is wearing a 1980s blue-tinted sun visor, and so what if the only words you can make out are the regular expletives? At least it’s not another tribute to The Libertines.

Only, it doesn’t quite work so well tonight, sandwiched between the hook-laden punk of Bluespring and super-tight indie art-types Rebus. The line between ramshackle electro-punk and tuneless noise is crossed on nearly every song as the off-key vocals clash horribly and swallow their accompaniment whole, and even the Lamacq-favoured ‘Arse Road’ – normally a dual-vocalled assault capable of rupturing the spleen of standard pop songwriting – becomes an insurmountable wall of yelped noise live, harsh on the ears and proud of it. Despite the lacking performance – neither of the two look like they can hear the other, occasionally exchanging awkward glances – they receive a warm reception, but when one of the loudest cheers tonight is in response to them having a song named ‘Tit Wank’ and nothing to do with the actual performance, you feel the music almost becomes disposable.

Tonight is far below what Look Look (Dancing Boys) have previously shown themselves to be capable of but, that said, they must at least be doing something right. Post-set, some in attendance run around calling Look Look the most ‘interesting’ band they’ve seen in however many years and ‘a bit like Shampoo’ to anyone who will listen. You get the feeling that on another night they could truly turn heads, but the general consensus tonight is that they are little short of disappointing.

dont know what this ben chap is on about but i think he must have struggled to remove his head from his bum during this set.

In all fairness LooK Look have played better gigs but its not about that. The fact there are two girls up on stage with no back up, bugger all instruments and they still have enormous amounts of confidence is enough. They are hugely exciting to watch and the majority of people thought that on the night.

The visual side of the band is fantastic and they out on a cracking show.

i suggest ben stops listening to Embrace or Fall Out Boy or whatever he likes and gets off his high horse.