The Sunshine Underground @ Cargo

The Sunshine Underground at Cargo Review

0/5
Bands: The Sunshine Underground
Venue: Cargo
Gig: The Sunshine Underground @ Cargo
Gig date: 4th September 2006
Posted on 14th June 2007 by bigcheese

Cargo, home of the Shoreditch Twat, overpriced chips, and bad service. However, tonight the service provided by The Sunshine Underground is - unlike the London Underground - First Class. They might still be overjoyed by finding a £20 note on the floor, and they might still have to try and sell their guest passes back to the door at Cargo for the price of a pint, but maybe not for much longer. To celebrate the release of their debut album Raise The Alarm, the adopted sons of Leeds thrashed their way through most of the album tracks, winning the local crowd over on their way. Opening just as Raise The Alarm does, with Wake Up, Craig and the lads built up the anticipation of the occasion with that insistent bass line and edgy percussion. Nervous glances were exchanged, people had expected a self professed "party band." This was some seriously dark disco punk. The band seemed content; they know what's up their sleeves, the crowd don't. Cue Commercial Breakdown. This tune sticks in the memory after first listen, and anyone who's heard it on XFM or MTV2 while eating their dinner in front of the telly, will subconsciously have stored it somewhere in the grey matter. It sounds like it was etched on the first indie disco playlist back in the time of the Flintstones, and praise the lord that it's being re-released. The crowd smell an anthem and all hell breaks loose. When Craig hits that high "BREAK... down" it's like a tidal wave just crashed into Cargo, the glow sticks go flying and for the rest of the set, it's hard to remember where we started five minutes ago; with a group of Londoners politely nodding along to Wake Up. There can't be many finer vocalists about at the moment, this lad is note perfect, even when the monitors pack up, even when he's being pelted with green glow sticks. The tempo is maintained throughout, with The Music-esque throat-strippers of Put You In Your Place and The Way It Is interspersed with the more poppy Borders and My Army. At times, you definitely get the swaggering Madchester vibe from The Sunshine Underground, and on some of the quieter album tracks, you can hear the washed out simplicity of the Stone Roses. Stuart momentarily stayed on stage to tune his guitar after their "last song," and a bit of the anticipation was taken out of the encore, but once the band announced the next song was being recorded by cameras for their next video, nothing mattered any more. The railway arches of Cargo bear an uncanny resemblance to the Cockpit, and for the last two songs, The Sunshine Underground must have felt like they were back in the bosom of the Leeds disco-hole. Now familiar with the breaks and drops of Commercial Breakdown, the crowd performed their role in this rock featurette with gusto, and the glow sticks went into overdrive for its reprise. Finishing with title track Raise The Alarm, the band decided it was their turn to cut loose, and Craig's squeals and wails presided over a mammoth cow-bell and wood-block bashing as the set reached its climax. As we emerged hot and sweaty from the gig, people were saying "you know... they were pretty good actually." The crowd at Cargo weren't the hardcore that these lads can fall back on closer to home, but were unsuspecting locals who had been dragged onto The Sunshine Underground train by a pretty intense performance. Next time they visit, they can expect an even warmer welcome. Words by Harry Allen

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