Hotpants and Handclaps.
Being first on stage at the NME Tour means there is a fair chance that a lot of the audience wont get to see the set but it doesn’t stop bands from turning up and giving it all. A few years back saw Franz Ferdinand take the opening slot, even in their hometown gigs, and you only have to look at how they have came on so there is a lot of potential in this slot.
Taking on the role this year was The Ting Tings and in all fairness, they came across as the best of the rest when you exclude The Cribs. There may be only two of them but they make a fair racket but in contrast to The White Stripes, not only are the gender positions swapped with Katie White on guitar and vocals with Jules De Martino bashing on the drums but the drums are the main focus of the songs with the guitar providing a fuzz overlay.
It turns out Katie was in a band that had supported Steps and Five so no doubt she is well used to playing in front of crowds at an ungodly time but she has the stage presence to carry it off and got the small crowd going with her hotpants and handclaps.
There was that feel of New Order indie dance to some of the later songs in the set and you could see the potential the band has if they can get playing to a wider audience, so this tour must be viewed as a great opportunity for them.
The last song of the set was ‘That’s Not My Name’ which showed some good vocal paraphrasing, it may not have had a lot of words but it was melodious. When White climbed down to the front barrier and got in touch with the fans, not only did she probably make some new fans for the band, she put the seal on an impressive performance and it wont be a big surprise if The Ting Tings go onto far bigger things in the future.