2008 Woodie Awards
Sketchbeat: London underground sensation
Joe McPeak '08
Issue date: 2/7/07 Section: Entertainment
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It was a dark one that night, as it likely is over here on normal nights. So we were pretty relieved when we finally stumbled upon the back alley that was Rivington Street after a good ten minute walk from Liverpool Street station. We got to the venue and went inside to be greeted by one of the opening bands as they tore through a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstion" as we navigated through the dimly lit main rooms while debating whether or not to shell out some quid for the cloakroom.
Welcome to the Cargo Club in Shoreditch, a smoky club with candlelit tables right in the middle of London's East End. It's dark, it's noisy, and the bar only has Amstel on tap. But there's a certain positive vibe in the place. The music, of course, is great when you have a good act onstage, but people still manage to get a good sense of intimacy while having a drink at the bar or lounging on the comfortable and worn couches as the shadows of the candlelight dance across the walls. However, the mood shifted as fans stampeded into the venue room for the night's main attraction.
Sketchbeat walked onto the stage with confidence, energy, and silly looking trousers. Though lacking a major record contract, they were able to invigorate the audience as though they were playing to a legion of devoted fans. At its root, their glammy, boisterous funk-influenced style is undeniably catchy and even addicting. This was just as true during their performance of the smooth and heartfelt "Safe in My Mind" as it was during the over-top proto-punk fury of "My Mama Said", the latter of which ignited the crowd into wonderfully enraged shout-along mass hysteria.
More than just singing along and enjoying themselves, the crowd pulsed with emotion and energy during Sketchbeat's time onstage. The band and their music were certainly being enjoyed, but it was often uncertain whether the crowd was more intoxicated with the performance or with the overall feeling at the time. The room was a maelstrom of people dancing and bumping into each other to the beat, with the only possible exception being the moments when a few guests shoved their way up to the front in order to organize a conga line to the sound of lead singer Paul Daron's cowbell (because more cowbell never fails to bring people together).
Welcome to the Cargo Club in Shoreditch, a smoky club with candlelit tables right in the middle of London's East End. It's dark, it's noisy, and the bar only has Amstel on tap. But there's a certain positive vibe in the place. The music, of course, is great when you have a good act onstage, but people still manage to get a good sense of intimacy while having a drink at the bar or lounging on the comfortable and worn couches as the shadows of the candlelight dance across the walls. However, the mood shifted as fans stampeded into the venue room for the night's main attraction.
Sketchbeat walked onto the stage with confidence, energy, and silly looking trousers. Though lacking a major record contract, they were able to invigorate the audience as though they were playing to a legion of devoted fans. At its root, their glammy, boisterous funk-influenced style is undeniably catchy and even addicting. This was just as true during their performance of the smooth and heartfelt "Safe in My Mind" as it was during the over-top proto-punk fury of "My Mama Said", the latter of which ignited the crowd into wonderfully enraged shout-along mass hysteria.
More than just singing along and enjoying themselves, the crowd pulsed with emotion and energy during Sketchbeat's time onstage. The band and their music were certainly being enjoyed, but it was often uncertain whether the crowd was more intoxicated with the performance or with the overall feeling at the time. The room was a maelstrom of people dancing and bumping into each other to the beat, with the only possible exception being the moments when a few guests shoved their way up to the front in order to organize a conga line to the sound of lead singer Paul Daron's cowbell (because more cowbell never fails to bring people together).
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