New Noise kicks off

Crystal Castles bring set to storming finish

03 May 2008 - The NME new noise tour kicked off to a very energetic start at the Oxford Academy on Friday night (2 May).
The Indie lads White Lies were first on the bill, getting every body in the mood for the rest of the night with a half hour set before we Team Waterpolo took over.

A particular crowd pleaser from the band was a song called It's our Life, which the lead singer simply stated as being: "about our life".

Several people put down their pints to storm straight into the sea of people when this hammering track  kicked in

Then came Friendly Fires who upped the pace a further notch when the confident yet not cocky front man leapt off the stage and crowd surfed during the third song into their set.

They gave an amazing multi instrumentalism mix and the crowd seemed impressed with the band who hope to have their debut album around August this year.

Then the final band of the night hit the stage, half an hour later than expected, and gave the performance that every one seemed to be waiting for.

The Verve have come back and they’re better
Alan McGee

Crystal Castles burst onto stage for an hour long set and singer Alice Glass screamed her heart out, with Ethan Kath getting his hoodie covered head straight down into his mix.

The mixed group of gig-goers watching matched her enthusiasm for each song and at one point several people came out of the bouncing mesh of bodies to sit by the side and take a much needed breather. 

The tracks Courtship dating and Crimewave both got the crowd worked up into a sweat but there was little interaction with the crowd during the show from Alice in terms of spoken words - it didn't appear to bother anyone though, they just wanted to jump.

The last song came and Alice and Ethan left the stage with a casual wave before coming back for one more song.

Four dance bands in one night seemed to leave the majority exhausted - but wanting a bit more from all the acts, especially Crystal Castles.

The tour is at the Bristol Thekla tonight (3 May).

Kelly Stooke