John Henry’s bar celebrated pop music of the past as The Pipettes brought their retro styled pop to the stage on Friday night.
In an eclectic night of music, the Pipettes’ guitarist and experimental singer/song writer “Monster Bobby” opened with a solo set of conceptual electronica. With his mix of offbeat songwriting and unusual electro samples, the Brighton-based artist proved he was more than just a member of band that backed The Pipettes.
The five New Yorkers behind The Ladybug Transistor then brought the venue back to normalcy thanks to its classic indie sound. With its female lead singer and pop sensibilities, it owes much to indie starlets Rilo Kiley.
But it was The Pipettes with their lovable, bubble-gum pop that really made an impact. Armed with their four-piece backing band, The Pipettes swept through songs from their debut LP and their U.S.-only EP “Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me.”
The band’s aim is to get people moving through energetic power-pop tunes and dance acts to accompany each song. This couldn’t be any clearer Friday night, with middle-aged admirers, punk rockers and die-hard fans alike all coming together to party with the UK-based indie trio.
Dressed in matching polkadot outfits and distancing themselves from their support band, The Pipettes have the visual characteristics of a manufactured pop act. Though some credit goes to Monster Bobby and the rest of the band, most of the creative input is channeled through the girls. Rosay, Julia and Gwenno are responsible for creating most of the songs, the dance moves and even the dresses, all of which came together perfectly to create an immersive pop experience.
Now familiar with the bigger crowds back home in the UK, The Pipettes showed great showmanship to put on an exuberant performance for the modest crowd that descended upon John Henry’s.
With the three female lead singers, heavy bass and sparkly guitar melodies, the band sounded like a Phil Spector pop act of the 1960s with a modern indie twang. The simple piano scores, hip-shaking melodies and finger clicking were all there with the polish and gleam of a modern pop act. But so were modern tales of youth as the girls sang, “The girl who’s boring but great in bed” from “Sex” and “The girl bully who amounts to nothing after school” from “Judy.”
The lyrics of “Pull Shapes” are a perfect reflection of The Pipettes’ spirit. A song designed with only one thing in mind, it’s a fantastic draw to the dance floor: “I just want to dance; I don’t care what the song is about.” With its sweeping orchestral score, hand claps and start-stop melody, its destined to keep you dancing, too.
The Pipettes are talented producers of a fun pop package. Refusing to take themselves too seriously, the band’s songs and style are all about getting people to dance and enjoy themselves. These modern performers of an old-fashioned sound reworked for the naughties are not to be seen as innovators, but they put on a brilliantly entertaining show.
Pipettes rock the house and get bodies moving at small American gig
Daily Emerald
November 3, 2007
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