Good Shoes @ ABC2
If this was the best, I wouldn't have liked to witness the rest
| 06 Jan 2008
Crowding onstage to the sound of a kid let loose at the Casio factory, Good Shoes singer Rhys Jones starts things off in rock star moody mode with his back to the audience - turning around to reveal a Blue Peter t-shirt. The hardcore fan contingent down the front goes crazy; composed mainly (and quite strangely) of tall teenaged boys, one bravely tries to crowd surf by the second song.
Sounding like the less angry, younger cousins of the Futureheads, if they'd grown up in a London suburb and watched too much TV, Good Shoes are all angular guitars and handclaps. This isn't a formula that works especially well tonight as much of the set is hampered by muddy sound obscuring the vocals, making most of the Shoes' songs sound much too similar. One of the few exceptions is a 30 second blast of Nazarin and the warped polka of an untitled new song.
Closing with In the City in response to fan pressure, Jones calls this "the best show we've ever had in Glasgow" and no doubt the super fans would agree. But, if this was the best, I wouldn't have liked to witness the rest. (Laura Paterson)
Sounding like the less angry, younger cousins of the Futureheads, if they'd grown up in a London suburb and watched too much TV, Good Shoes are all angular guitars and handclaps. This isn't a formula that works especially well tonight as much of the set is hampered by muddy sound obscuring the vocals, making most of the Shoes' songs sound much too similar. One of the few exceptions is a 30 second blast of Nazarin and the warped polka of an untitled new song.
Closing with In the City in response to fan pressure, Jones calls this "the best show we've ever had in Glasgow" and no doubt the super fans would agree. But, if this was the best, I wouldn't have liked to witness the rest. (Laura Paterson)