Its not boring by the sea
The Fat Sams stage was the one giving respite to the indie kids from all the dance and disco shenanigans and the arrival of Blood Red Shoes was very much welcome in an afternoon where the sun had shone louder than the guitars....to this point at least. Its been a couple of years since this writer saw Blood Red Shoes, seeing them in some of their pivotal early shows, including a dangerously crowded Camden Crawl gig but with album number two and a whole new hairstyle for Laura-Mary Carter created a little concern that things would have changed for the band since the initial stages.
‘Its Getting Heavy By The Sea’ was the opener and a more apt description for the set couldn’t be found as something was definitely stirring beside the Loch. Okay, it wasn’t Nessie but hey kids, that don’t exist so don’t lose sleep over that, not that anyone could sleep considering the fucking racket that the Blood Red Shoes were unleashing. The set contained a number of new tracks, which may have been unfamiliar to the watching crowd but they lacked nothing in potency or tension. For a two piece band, they know how to keep it simple and loud and although they have a tendency to ram home a song through heavy repetition, it’s a formula that works and suits their line-up very well.
It was funny to note that drummer Steven Ansell had a more feminine sounding singing voice than Carter but there was nothing lightweight about the act and even though there was no bassist on stage, there was a monumental rumbling and bottom end to their music. It was an edgy show but there was always a melodious feel to the music, which made it easier to enjoy and would have likely picked up some new fans for the act.
‘Say Something, Say Anything’ was a major highlight of the short set, with the band responding between tracks but it must be weird to be playing in a tent when you can see the sun snaking in through the open flaps. Set closer ‘I Wish I Was Someone Better’ rocked and rolled as much as it had done at any time in the past and left the crowd to filter out content that they had their indie quota for the day more than topped up.