Event: This Must Be Pop Live – W/ Queen Of Hearts, A*M*E & The Face
Venue: The Roadhouse, Hoxton
Date: March 20th 2012
One of the best things about London is that you’re never too far away from a little pop show. Granted – they usually take place in my bedroom but for tonight at least it was in a real live venue with real live performers. So ‘This Must Be Pop Live’ is one of those underground pop showcases where amazing newly signed pop-stars, amazing un-signed pop artists and untalented desperate wannabes get together to sing/perform a few of their ditties. Nine times out of ten they’re small intimate* affairs, mainly attended by record labels (who are usually just there to see their own act); PRs; music journalists and usually a couple of hardcore pop freaks throw themselves into the mix. This night was no exception.
So now that I’ve set the scene, let me introduce the first act.
The Face have been knocking around for some time now but things FINALLY seem to happening to these guys. Imagine if Boney M were around today and one day they got stuck in a lift with Scissor Sisters. Imagine that the lift took so long to be fixed both acts had decided to join forces and rehearsed in the mirrors, coming out a fresh new band. That band would be The Face.
As you can see from my amazing photography, you can see the angle they’re going for here. It probably comes as no surprise one of the main honchos behind the music is Anders Hansson (Alcazar, BWO). So if you’re thinking ‘catchy Euro-disco-pop’, you’re bang on the money. If you’re not thinking ‘catchy Euro-disco-pop’, then come back when you are. One of their tracks ‘Love Stuck‘ is so unbelievably beyond anything else I’ve heard for a long time, one of those tracks you become instantly obsessed with the second you hear it. If this was 1998 I’d be listening to Capital FM all day on my hi-fi with my finger hovering over the record button, waiting for them to play it. It’s that kind of amazing!
All in all The Face are a very tight pop act – both vocally AND visually. They’re the sort of band that will be MASSIVE in Germany, Holland, Sweden and of course, anywhere else with a gay bar.
Next up: A*M*E. After 2 months of slogging her main market doing a schools tour, A*M*E has finally been let loose on the proper pop scene. She obviously went down a storm. She’s really coming into her own aswell. Performing her whole P.A. set of five tracks. I couldn’t get a good photo of her as she was far too busy bouncing around the stage for my 1950s camera to focus, so you’ll just have to capture the essense with her music video. A*M*E is starting to totally command the stage with a sassy, Sarf London girl swag, yet delivering it in a very fun cheeky way. Basically she ticks every box you can think of. All singing; all dancing, brilliantly produced and written tracks.
Finally, Queen Of Hearts (who were headlining) took to the stage. Now I have to make a bit of an apology to the girl here, as a true record label wanker – I was only there to see my own acts, hence I wasn’t paying full attention.
Saying that though, SHE WAS VERY GOOD. The staging was very slick and she obviously thinks about the kind of artist she is now and wants to be in the future. Music wise, the most obvious comparison/analogy I can think of would be ‘Goldfrapp with a beat’. All her material sounded well produced, and she seemed as if she was ready to knock an album out any minute now. The main track I remember is ‘Love Feels Like A Drug’. ACTUALLY that song was so amazing I stopped chatting my industry bollocks at the back and pricked my ears up to have a listen.
Five Stars all round (I think).
You need to follow all 3 acts on Twitter
@THEFACETHEBAND
@THEOFFICIALAME
@IAMQUEENOFHEART
*I obviously mean the dictionary definition of ‘intimate’, not the Tulisa definition of ‘intimate’
