The Whitest Boy Alive

I saw The Whitest Boy Alive play last night and they were AMAZING but before i can explain how good they were i first have to do something that i should have done before now, which is talk about their two albums. The first album came out a while ago, it marked Erlend Oye's departure from his accoustic Kings Of Convenience sound. 'Dreams' is a collection of sparse indie styled tracks with dance sensibilities created by the driving bass lines and pounding drums that are then licked with guitar and tickled with synthesizers. It's a classic case of 'less is more' as these seemingly simplistic elements combine to make an extremely encompassing listen. The second album uses the same concept but with more focus on the synth causing 'Rules' to sound richer, fuller and better produced, not that this necessarily makes it better than the first, just different. Both albums are great and should have had their own reviews on here, but they haven't and besides, this is all preamble for me describing them live.


I saw The Whitest Boy Alive play last night and they were AMAZING, i've been to gigs before on a Sunday and even if you've had a calm weekend it still seems like a chore to leave the house. I assume this opinion is shared by others in Brighton because Sunday turn outs are often low. This was not the case for TWBA, they managed to sell out Digital on a Sunday with a crowd who were more than up for it and not at all wishing they were at home feeling sorry for themselves. From the first moment Erlend appeared on stage to announce the line up of the evening's entertainment to the final bow of the evening the crowd enthusiastically cheered anything and everything that happened (including the removal of a cardigan). The support band The New Wine played a very similar form of indie-dance as TWBA, they were so good that i wondered if they might upstage the very act they were supporting (they're playing at The Great Escape and i'd definitely recommend seeing them), i don't think i've ever been more pleased to be wrong. TWBA start by jacking up a few of their original tracks, making them slightly more bouncy for the fanatic crowd to dance around to, then starts the real fun as, under Erlend's command, they begin improvising. As he points to an instrument the band member springs off on a tangent whilst the others wordlessly change tact to keep up, just as i'm wondering where this is going and why the bass-line sounds familiar it morphs into a cover version of Armand Van Helden's 'You Don't Know Me' and the crowd erupts, it's absolutely impossible not to smile and dance along because it's simultaneously massively cheesey, quite tongue in cheek and totally AMAZING. Two minutes into the song and with no noticeable signal to each other they mix perfectly back into the original song they were playing to more screams from the crowd. This happens twice more with cover versions of Technotronic's 'Pump Up The Jam' and The Prodigy's 'Outer Space', every moment of the set is unpredictable and yet pure entertainment. In place of an encore (retreat from the stage at Digital is hard to pull off with dignity) they opted for turning the lights out during a break down and then performing magic! Even though the instruments have been playing all the time it's been dark, when the lights come up they've all managed to swap instruments, it's pointless but hilarious and just goes to show the level of showmanship these guys have. Unfortunately the night draws to a close and they leave the stage at the 10.30pm curfew to rapturous applause, this applause then continues on and on, gradually growing in intensity as the crowd chant in an attempt to lure them back to the stage. I've never seen a group of people sustain such a long and determined show of appreciation, nobody had left the venue they were all just waiting and cheering. It worked and the boys re-appeared back on stage and played for a further 40 minutes, getting the crowd to sing acapella whilst dropping the synth line to the recently remixed/re-released 'Show Me Love' during this final cover Erlend got off the stage and performed a leisurely lap of the upper level of Digital, his eventual return to the stage marked the definitive end of the night and their almost two hour set. If you ever get the chance to see these guys play live, don't think about it, just go. Even if you hadn't heard any of their material you would have had a good time last night.

Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage