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Electric Six Live Review

Electric Six finished their current stint of UK tour dates promoting their latest release “I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being The Master” with a night at Birmingham Academy 2 to a sold out crowd. The Eccentric rockers from Detroit who are famous for, ‘That Gay Bar song’ proved to their loyal crowd of fans that they are much more than a band with one hit to rely on.

A varied crowd arrived at the carling academy on a Wednesday night to see the American exports perform a Dirty Disco set and weren’t disappointed. I was dubious about the night ahead but by the end of the night I was converted.

The support band emerged to what was becoming a frustrated crowd after a long wait. The Doors to the venue had opened and people had flooded in in order to get a good view. With the Academy 2 being quite a small area it became cramped a lot quicker than usual and meant after an hour and a half of waiting for a band to appear the crowd were definitely ready for some music. The Support act set up well for Electric Six getting the crowd dancing and clapping along with them.

Electric Six came to the Stage accompanied by introductory music and the crowd cheered with excitement and relief. The gig would have run flawlessly if it were not for the fact that opening track “It’s Showtime” was spoiled by the fact that the soundman forgot to switch of the introductory music, grinding proceedings to a halt. Halfway through the song the band decided it wasn’t worth competing against and stopped.

After this Mishap surely things could only get better and Electric Six made sure it did. They played a fast paced set which was full of Disco/Rock tracks which really hit home with the mid-week crowd. They created a party atmosphere and literally had the whole room, from front to back dancing.

Dick Valentine, Lead singer of Electric Six simply has to be one of the most eccentric people alive and really showed that tonight. He charmed the crowd with 5-10 minute rants mid song about George Bush, Birmingham and the bands Spanish Drummer. Many would think these ramblings would get boring but the simple fact was he made the crowd laugh and this added to the up-beat atmosphere of the night.

The highlights of the night were hit tracks “Danger! High Voltage!” and “Gay Bar” which sent the crowd into a frenzy. Electric Six are a great live band, they were musically very tight and with a showman like Dick Valentine as front man, there is little chance you will leave an Electric Six gig without a grin from ear to ear.