The Ordinary Boys LIVE @ king Tut’s 21.11.14

Upon arriving at King Tut’s it was impressive to see just how full the rather intimate venue actually was, especially after the band’s long hiatus, and once the promising support act “Whales in Cubicles” left the stage and the Ordinary Boys’ kit was set up it became apparent how dedicated their fans really are. Which makes what I saw that night all the more disappointing. The band were met with cries and cheers from the enthusiastic “Ordinary Army” as they chugged their way through favourites such as “Talk, Talk, Talk” and “Boys Will be Boys” .

The crowd seemed receptive for the most part, but as the gig carried on a quick look around the room would observe a lot more disappointed looks than joyous ones. This was mostly due to the fact that to begin with, the band seemed lively and eager to please. But soon after it was just technical fault after technical fault swiftly followed by lead singer Preston getting far too drunk to string a sentence together coherently, let alone give a strong vocal performance.

The technical faults started early with on Preston’s guitar lead breaking, leading to a small break before he decided it wasn’t essential and they’d carry on for the time being. Soon though it was things such as him losing his guitar pick and searching frantically for it, apparently not having decided to just bring a backup with him that gave the whole night a very unprofessional feeling. As previously mentioned, the more intoxicated Preston got, the weaker the singing became with many of the band’s final songs sounding like instrumental versions as Preston flung himself around the front of the crowd.

Whilst this may have not been the best possible return for the band it was definitely a return, with the announcement of a new album coming midway through the set. This was met with quite a positive response as Preston observed it would be less “self-indulgent than the last”. But maybe it would have been interesting to see the response it would have gotten towards the end. If this performance is any indication, the band have a long way to go until they are one of the major players in British music within this decade.

Patrick Dalziel

Patrick Dalziel

Patrick Dalziel

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