Live Review: Twenty Twenty + Guests @ 02 Academy Islington, London 30/01/2010

08. Feb, 2010 0 Comments

Twenty Twenty

Artists: Twenty Twenty, The Broadcast, The New Cities, Jody Has A Hitlist
Location: O2 Islington Academy, London
Date: 30th January 2010
Overall Rating: 4/5

Summary: Twenty Twenty was meant to be the main band of the night for this gig at the O2 Islington Academy but unfortunately they were over thrown by one of their support bands.

Review: Twenty Twenty made a big deal via their Myspace about the London date of their tour being something special. In terms of support acts they were right.

The Broadcast

The opening act for the night was The Broadcast and they had the entire place on their tippy toes jumping and screeching with excitement. The sang their hearts out, gave their all and were feeding off the energy the crowd were emitting.

Jody Has A Hitlist

The second support was Jody Has A Hitlist and they warmed the crowd up in all the right places. The Irish quintet gave a vigorous and very energetic demonstration of what they are able to accomplish. As well as singing their own tracks like ‘Nobody’s Looking At You’ and ‘Walk It Off, Son’ which can be found on their Myspace, they did a couple of cover tunes. There have been numerous occasions where a main act has burst into a cover song and fans shout along, but it is a bit risky for a support band, a band that many of the individuals there probably had never heard of, to belt out not one but two covers. However, with their Irish charm they are most likely going to be remembered for these covers rather than criticised for singing them. Their performance of a Lady Gaga hit was enjoyable but it was Kesha’s ‘Tick Tock’ that had the ENTIRE place jumping along as if they were on space hoppers. These lads certainly have a bright future ahead of them.

The New Cities

No matter how brilliant Jody Has A Hit List was though, the finest set of the evening had to belong to the Canadians that is The New Cities. These guys instantly take your breath away at every step of the way. From the looks upon each and every one of their faces they were having the times of their lives, doing what they do best and feeding off the energy the crowd were graciously giving them. The front man of the band, David, is a born performer. While singing he is able to seduce the crowd with his charm, good looks, incredible voice and raunchy antics. Synth players Nick and Phil also spiced up the stage with their playing technique; moving the instrument as if a guitar, in a similar way the bass player of The Living End uses his instrument. These guys set the venue on fire singing a number of tracks from their album ‘Lost In City Lights’ including the very memorable ‘Hypertronic Superstar’. As they left the stage the crowd were literally begging for more.

The New Cities

The New Cities

Twenty Twenty

When it came to the main act Twenty Twenty performing, this ‘special evening’ seemed to be left as something of a mystery. What was so special? They had a youthful ambition and liveliness. Their set was opened with a video for ‘Get Down’ and concluded with the lads shooting some backstage footage and then remembering to actually play the song for an encore; this one-track encore had a couple of dancers on stage with the lads but was nothing astonishing. The remainder of the set consisted of “Old School” songs as the lads described them, as well as a few newer numbers. When a band sings live it is the unplanned and rough nature that spices things up especially when vocals sound totally live and instruments have a slight twang to them. When Twenty Twenty was performing however, everything seemed a little too perfect, no knots or speed bumps in the process. Considering they have yet to release an album, the lads done well making this an enjoyable performance and the crowd will be more than happy to catch them perform again when they tour later in the year.

However The New Cities were the favourites for the night and out of the four are the recommended ones to catch on tour.