Saint Etienne

From December 2012

Support bands at gigs have a hard time of it, usually playing to half empty halls with the audience milling about at the bar. And while there might be a few punters down at the front gazing longingly at the stage, they're only there to stake their position for the main act. All in all it must be a bit dispiriting for the musicians.

Last night at the Liquid Room was a bit different and I certainly wasn't the only person who tapped up shortly after the doors opened to see Scritti Politti play warm up to Saint Etienne. Scritti Politti is the nom de plume of singer-songwriter Green Gartside who after his massively successful album Cupid & Psyche 85 suffered a series of panic attacks and disappeared off the face of the earth or, to be more accurate, 'retired' to the Welsh mountains for a decade.

And it was a joy to see him again. With no sense of the stage fright which has afflicted him in the past he treated the audience to a full hour of musical treasures: The Sweetest Girl, Jacques Derrida, Wood Beez, Absolute, The Boom Boom Bap etc., etc. He's one of the cleverest lyricists around and he's still got the most beautiful of voices.

And Saint Etienne? My knowledge of the Croydon electronica trio pretty much starts & ends with their 1992 debut Fox Base Alpha. (I'm not even sure if I knew that they were a trio before yesterday.) The two lads - presumably Bob & Pete? - were largely hidden by banks of keyboards & drum machines leaving the lovely Sarah Cracknell dressed in a spangly dress & feather boa to hold court front-stage. Clearly they've been busy these last 20 years and seem to have evolved from shoe-gazing indie trippers to a full on dance outfit. Nothing Can Stop Us remains a brilliant anthem and a jolly time was had by all present.

Cabaret for the 21st century - you gotta love the BPM.