Bloody good.
Sometimes on a Monday night, the last place that you need to be going to is a gig. Having the first day back at work blues and knowing that your head won't hit the pillow until after the midnight hour can conspire to put thoughts of leaving the house to the back of your mind but on occasions, the struggle is made to seem worthwhile.
A lot of press and praise has been directed to Blood Red Shoes of late, which is no longer any great indicator of good music but right from the off, there appeared to be something about the duo which suggested it would be a favourable, if freezing cold, night out on the town.
The drive and energy shown by the duo was even more impressive given that Laura Mary-Carpenter was battling the ailments and looked in pain in between songs as she tried to recompose herself and carry on (which is all the more admirable now, given that the band have had to cancel some of the following dates on their tour.) Admittedly as most of the songs were unknown to a lot of the crowd it may have been easier to camouflage some of the harder moments for Carpenter to sing but it didn't negatively impact on the set. With one song being dropped due to its constraints but being replaced by a shiny new track, it was all credit to them for carrying on in adversity and not falling off like some unfortunate members of their touring party.
In a two-piece both players have to make their mark and its no surprise that the drums came out with all guns blazing, thrashing away like a lead instrument. The marked difference to the White Stripes (they had to be referenced somewhere, may as well get it over with) was that Steven Ansell was happy to lead the songs as opposed to just maintaining the backbeat for Laura's guitar wails and histrionics.
And she did shine at times, the short stabbing riffs full of venom and anger dashing around, shaping the tracks and weaving around the vocals.
Considering it was the first hearing of most of these songs and the band were noticeably under strength due to ill-health, it was quite a remarkable effort put in by them and the short show went a long way to justifying a lot of praise and commendations heading the duos way.