The Futureheads - Los Angeles

The yellow 21+ wristbands were the norm in the crowd coming to see The Futureheads at the charming Henry Fonda. A good sized crowd filled with fans and the obvious industry types that had come out to witness the Futurehead buzz for themselves. And in true L.A. style, the back of the room was occupied by two large cameras, set and ready to capture the irresistible zest of the Futureheads.

I'm always skeptical of a live taping. Will the showmanship be exaggerated? Will it be “different” than other shows? Would one of them fall into a fit of nervous anxiety at the thought of being filmed? Would it truly be sincere I asked myself? All doubt was rightly slapped from me as the Futureheads burst into their energy-crazed set.



With all four members on microphones, one could not help but be impressed at the skill and practice necessary to perform such an aerobic act on stage. The vocal harmonies are exact and flawless, but with much appreciated additions like additional “oh’s” and excited yelps. Each number is a swift treat that heats your heels. The pauses are brief, but filled with quick comments that I couldn’t make out entirely due to my trouble discerning British accents, but the words I did catch were quite charming.

The Futureheads want to make you dance, repeatedly introducing their songs with a quick, “Here’s one you can dance to.” And it wasn’t hard to be tempted to dance; I was jittering around and saw others do the same. With the crowd at their beckoning, the Futureheads called for a sing-along. They split the room down the middle and appointed each side of the room with a vocal “ah oh oh” or “Uh oh” for the intro to “Hounds of Love.” It was zany, but it was what we came for.



While the crowd was hollering along and made decent attempts at dancing, the greatest fun was being had by the Futureheads themselves. The showmanship and band comradery was present and pure. They ruled the stage and proved to all that the city was indeed ready for them. Walking out to the car feeling satiated and giddy, I caught a glimpse of vocalist/guitarist Barry Hyde standing outside grinning for pictures for a mob of gathering fans. Yes, L.A. loved it and there will definitely be more chatter about this group from Sunderland. Forget the hype and just catch them live. It’s a show guaranteed to leave you happy and hoarse.

Kludge brings you music and politics

Sign up to our Mailing List - Receive monthly updates on our insightful articles, music reviews, monthly streams and mp3s - no spam! no list sales!

Unsubscribe

Reader's Comments: