Monday, June 11, 2007

The Rumble Strips

It's almost exactly 12 months since I first saw the Rumble Strips and not a lot has changed during this time. The same songs, the same clothes (has Charlie ever taken that jacket off?) and pretty much the same personnel. Yes, they've got a bass player now, but somehow that seems like cheating - part of the allure of them was the way that, sometimes, a song would be just drums, sax and trumpet.

The really, really big and important difference is the way that, without anyone realising it, the Rumble Strips have grown from being an obscure Devon quartet to one of Britain's best kept secrets. Witness the crowded KOKO singing along to "Alarm Clock" (which, disappointingly, drummer Matty no longer plays standing up), sway along to "Oh Creole" and raise the fucking roof to "Motorcycle". Vincent Vincent must be kicking himself.

The only downer tonight is that, headlining a four band show, The Rumble Strips find themselves short of time and rush through songs to try and pack as much in before curfew. Whilst a chaotic encore of "The Boys Are Back In Town", aided - or should I say hindered? - by every other act on the bill, was fun, this was a case where less would have been more and fewer songs played at a less frantic tempo would've done just as well.

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