White Rabbits at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
White Rabbits at the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
Support from Stars and Sons, Goldheart Assembly
Words by Brendan Monteiro / Photo’s by Marcus Maschwitz
My expectations of tonight’s proceedings were at an all time low to begin with, I had not heard any material from any of the bands and furthermore I knew that they weren’t classified in a genre that I normally find myself listening to. But by the end of the night I sauntered out of the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen with a smile gleaming from ear to ear, tonight I found myself some treasure.
Rewind a couple of hours and Brighton’s Stars and Sons calmly get up on stage, There set is smooth and vibrant, and their melodic indie sounds resonate and as their set draws to an end I find myself making a mental note to keep an eye out for them. A quick equipment change and soon enough Goldheart Assembly are in full swing, the london six piece have a variation of up beat and mellow songs but it’s the latter that really shine for me, with Ukulele’s and what looked like an autoharp they swirl into an intricate sort of indie / folk sound that hit’s the ears at just the right spot. Mental note number two has been made
Last to hit the stage is Columbia, Missouri‘s White Rabbits, they thump their way straight into Rudie Fails, with thunderous percussion’s they surge and jolt every foot into motion. These guys are so unique and progressive it’s frightening. Whether it’s drums, guitar or whacked out delay pedal’s, every member seems well versed in them all. Alex reminds me of Jonny Greenwood from the ‘Creep’ video, slumped over his guitar and fixated in his creations and Stephen’s haunting voice sends shivers. The Plot is so intense live, the whole band just seem to be charged with an colossal amount of energy. Mathew and Jamie seem to be competing to see who can break a drum skin first, the fight intensifies more when bassist Brian takes to the challenge too. Percussion Gun is definitely my favourite of the evening, it’s a funk / jazz / groove / you call it what you want, with some melodic mastery combined with abrasive passion. All I can say is whoa, what a night!
We heard the guys will be back in London in the not too distant future and we cannot wait to see them again and look forward to sitting down with them and picking their brains to find out more about how they do what they do.
July 30th, 2009
[...] the album and just put it all into perspective for me. Tonight was that night. I shot a review for Clink Music Magazine of their show in London which was at a small venue just off Old Street tube station called Hoxton [...]
July 30th, 2009
damn cant believe i missd this show!
August 4th, 2009
really loving this band at the moment… was quite surprised to find out that they’re from the US.
cool review and super photos in what looks like some difficult lighting.