The Automatic

"What's that coming over the hill, is it a monster?" Er, not exactly, it's much more likely to be the one man whirlwind that is Automatic keyboard player Alex Pennie. Brilliantly upstaging his bandmates at every turn, Pennie is a one man show laid over a show by three others. So, whilst the rest of the band lead the audience through 'Raoul', 'Monster' and 'Recover', Pennie is climbing speaker stacks, hanging off the edge of the stage, throwing tambourines in the air and giving a virtuoso display of microphone swinging. Oh, and playing keyboards, too. In fact, the only time it is possible to take your eyes off him is when all eight of Goldie Lookin' Chain join the band for a cover of Kanye West's 'Gold Digger'. Oddly, this is Pennie's only lead vocal, but no matter, the NME/Radio 1 tent has never been fuller and the throng have witnessed a one man show to remember for a long time.