GIG REVIEWS

Go! Team
@ Leeds Met University
5.03.08
www.vanguard-online.co.uk


I wasn’t sure what I was doing at this one – previews on Youtube promised a messy sound with half a dozen musicians rotating parts, even within a song. Then I bumped into an acquaintance at the gig who described their records as ‘irritating’. Hmmmm…. Thing is – I like trying new things and I like a bit of a bop and Go! Team fitted both categories so here I was, open to something new.


And off to a good start. Any band that play The Shangri-las’ Give Him A Great Big Kiss as walk-on music is a band with taste. Then there’s the two drummers – that comes from a long and non-conformist heritage that includes Adam And The Ants and the Grateful Dead…. The assembly take their places and set off on their busy and messy journey, swapping instruments regularly and leaping about like salmon in a fish tank. Pop songs meet dance pieces meet scratchy indie meet guitar fret-play. They are half Spice Girls, half So Solid Crew, half an anarchist collective – a full one and a half bands.


With so much swapping there are members who get a turn at singing that perhaps shouldn’t but it’s treated as a big party. The crowd are a good mix and up for a dance and good time. Clapping in the air is more the order of the day than shoe-gazing tonight. Vocals are never a strong point but Go! Team figure that enthusiasm will carry them over that and hand out semi-rap, mouth organ, guitar solos, drum duets, uncoordinated dancing and, finally, a squall of feedback. They’ve managed to squeeze 16 songs into an hour, grabbing most energy for singles Junior Kickstart, Ladyflash, Bottle Rocket and anthem, Huddle Formation. The mix of cheerleading, pop-dance and indie has been a dab of sherbert on the tongue.






Ross McGibbon