28 June 2005

Live Review: Hard-Fi at London Wireless Festival - Friday 24th June 2005

Author: Claire Mackie

Hyde Park's Friday was an all-round mixed-bag. Characteristically wet, but just not as muddy as some other British summer festivals, the day offered a concoction of the unique and unconventional vs. the predictable and generic bands of the British music industry. Most notably, Hard-fi's performance was a highlight, excelling against other acts of the day. This predominantly owed to the bands ability to get the crowd going with an effective melting pot of dance, indie, electronica, punk, reggae, soul, and even jazz to make a poppy sound which seemed to embrace the whole of the audience packed into the buzzing tent.

These proud Staines lads did it all. They undoubtedly entertained but also seemed to deliver a message about the reality of life in working-class West London, punching their on-lookers with 'Does anyone 'ere 'av a sh*t job, I said does anyone 'ere have a shit job?' 'This song's for you.' Crowd-pleasing tracks included the The White Stripes 'Seven Nation Army' cover which differed from the original due to its eerily thuggish edge and their single 'Hard to beat' which seemed to please the street-chic expectations of punters. Whether the boys will follow in the footsteps of their evergreen street-savvy predecessors such as The Stone Roses or The Happy Mondays remains to be seen. What was clear however, was that their songs were enjoyed, their gritty message just may have been heard, and requests for a reprise filled the space as they made way for the next act, which made their performance in fact very hard to beat.

1 comment:

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