Walking into The Lexington, my ears were immediately satisfied, as I waited in line in the pub to get into the main venue area because a whole
PJ Harvey album was being played- not a usual occurrence, well at least not in the pubs near me in any case. The queue of people was diverse, a mix of male and female, of all possible sexual orientations, and some people I assumed may have travelled to England especially for the gig as I heard did hear some French conversations.
When we got to the front, our hands were stamped with a motif of a little snail and we went up some stairs and into the main venue- which was crowded and intimate.
The supporting act were a band called
Plug, sadly I can't find anything about this band on the internet, although if I do I will certainly post something up. They consisted of just two girls, one on drums and vocals, and the other on keyboard vocals. Despite the minimal band members, they had the sound of a whole band.
MEN with a slight line up change for the show (Ginger was not present for this gig) they kicked the set off with first album track 'Life's Half Price' which managed to get everyone moving and things did not slow down in the slightest as they worked their way through what must have been every song on their upcoming album.
Third song in, a link up of first two singles 'Off Our Backs' and 'Credit Card Babies' even invoked a small stage invasion from several members of the audience, who just jumped up and started dancing,
MEN happily went with it, even passing the microphone for the fans to join in with their performance.
Upcoming single 'Who I Am To Feel So Free' was already being sung along to in a big way, indicating this may potentially be a future anthem for
MEN. It was as they started this song, they revealed their big banner with the title written on, and potraits of fans that had sent their photos in, along with reasons why they feel so free to the band.
When they announced their final song, they were greeted with sighs from the audience, which prompted JD Samson to say that the only left for them to do would be to play a cover, and not even leave the stage, but just stand quietly for a few minutes while the crowd cheered them on. Sadly though, The Lexington must have strict rules, as when they finished the last song, JD Samson announced they had gone over their time and apologised. The band didn't return. But that was the only disappointment of the gig.
MEN have another gig supporting
Sleigh Bells next week at Heaven nightclub in London along with electro noise outfit
Teeth on Monday 14th February, their debut album
Talk About Body is released on the same day.
Rating: 5/5
