This should of been a great set, but wasnt. Turns out the King (LOUIS XIV) who was on as the support had ruled tonight.
Maybe my expectations were just too high, as the media hype has been floating around THE RAKES like a maladorous cloud. The crowd here tonight had tribal idolatry in mind in a way similar to the relationship between The Libertines and their fans. When they came on stage to a raucous reception, lead singer Alan Donohoe said "Its good to be home", but yet I believed that as about as much as I would if I'd heard Ronnie Biggs making the same declaration.
Donohoe, though, IS an animated ebullient singing force. He has been compared to the late, lamented Ian Curtis: a nice idea, but I dont buy into this school of thought. It seems if you twitch a lot you're immediately the new, born again Joy Division these days. And didn't we recently hear Maximo Park's Paul Smith being hailed in a similar fashion?
Still, there's no doubting The Rakes have presence. There's the adept and able drummer Lasse Petersen; there's bassist Jamie Hornsmith - very calm and collected to the point of mellowness - and Matthew Swinerton on guitars, who I thought stole the show as he effortlessly coasting his way through the set with ease and aplomb. The songs as a whole were OK, though the band seemed anxious to finish, displaying a sort of "quick we'll get in there, knock out these songs ASAP then on our Bromley's" attitude. I know their songs are short, sharp shockers, but there wasn't time to get the feel of any of thes songs tonight. I suppose it doesnt help that this was their 19th gig in a frenzied past month and they've barely been out of the press's clutches over the summer.
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Still, "22 Grand Job" was a good way to bow out of this one. Everyone had been waiting for it, as it definitely relates to a lot of people in London, or any city come to that. It is such an infectious tune for such a short one (about 1 and half minutes), and I found myself singing it all the way home.
I would like to see The Rakes again after this gruelling tour, to decide what I really think, as I realise one slightly under-par concert cannot be enough to condemn them for good.
Still, not a bad night. Plus, Koko is a great venue with the plushest of interiors. I kept expecting someone with regal blood would peer over one of the boxes at any time.
I look forward to next year when The Rakes will have a less hectic schedule. 22 grand?? You haven't got a Danny La Rue mate!
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