lnr | Friday gig

Friday night I was tired, I'd have quite liked to go to Matthew and Sally's farewell party, but I had tickets for a gig and so Mike and I headed out to the Corn Exchange (after a nice dinner at Nando's).

First up (and thanks to Steve Lamacq for telling me their name - he caught the tour in London later in the weekend) were Hot Club de Paris, a rather odd threesome from Liverpool. They opened a cappella, crowded round a single mic, and sang a couple of other bits like that throughout the set. Nice sense of humour, and I rather loved the deadpan guitarist's repeated "This song is called X. It's about X." I wouldn't seek them out, but worth catching.

After a long wait they were followed by Larrikin Love, who were one of the reasons I'd bought the tickets. It turns out I only really know two of their songs, but I really enjoyed them both, and the rest of the set was pretty good too. I definitely ought to track down the album at some point (after Christmas - I'm on a self-inflicted CD buying embargo until then), and I'd love to see them headlining.

The next wait seemed even longer, which may have just been my tiredness. Sore feet were definitely beginning to make me grumpy by the time Dirty Pretty Things came on, which definitely took the edge off the gig somewhat. But they were pretty good and I enjoyed having the space at the back to bop along. The encore was fun, with a new song, an old punk cover and a cover of The Libertines (Carl's previous band) I Get Along. I think they could have talked to the audience a bit more, though that improved at the end. And I think them stagediving into the audience was a bit of a hit.

Overall not the best night out, but still well worth the 15 quid.