The Long Blondes

Live at Lancaster Central Library
25 May 2006

Stewart Parsons, head of the music department at Lancaster’s public library, has done it again! Last Thursday, 25th May, the increasingly popular music band The Long Blondes performed in a packed-out library.

The doors opened at 7pm and the gig kicked off 40 minutes later with support act Bricolage, the sort of band your grand mother would approve of. Dressed in the style of home counties’ teenagers from the Fifties, they looked and sounded like a harmless version of Franz Ferdinand. They were good musicians from Glasgow and were able to play together.

After a half hour break, The Long Blondes, mentioned several times in NME as a band to watch out for, took the stage and rocked the joint. Although they too looked and sounded retro, albeit in the style of the New York New Wave scene of the late Seventies (imagine a female version of Talking Heads), they had catchy tunes, a lead guitarist who was more than just competent, a bass guitarist who didn’t only have a pretty face (dare I say it... she’s a female version of John Entwistle) and singer Kate Jackson was one hip kitty.

The Long Blondes are a Sheffield band in the tradition of Pulp, Def Lepard and Joe Cocker: they are the acceptable face of the devil’s music.

Whereas at previous library gigs, the audience had consisted of people who had come out of curiosity and the friends and relatives of the various bands performing, this time there was a truly devout audience, consisting of 200 teenagers and some members of staff, who had been prepared to pay money to see their favourite band, whether they were Bricolage or The Long Blondes, perform.
All in all, another pleasant evening at Lancaster’s most funky and unusual music venue. \

Once again, well done Mr Parsons!

NB The gig had been reviewed by NME and will appear in its next issue.

Humble Sam
31/05/06

LINKS

Lancaster Central Library

The Long Blondes