!!! (Chk Chk Chk) - Manchester Academy 2 - (29/10/2010)

Daniel Harris | Monday, 01 November 2010

Manchester Academy 2 was only half full, but this transpired to be advantageous in the long run. The venue was not cluttered with standing statues that associate themselves with scene bands, leaving a very enthused audience plenty of room to dance.

This very small section of Manchester loves !!!, and !!! love them back. It is very hard not to become seduced by the all-round enthusiasm on display. Frontman Nic Offer throws every bit of himself into his performance with entertaining and hilarious results. His dance routines are a cross between the 'Saturday Night Fever' take off in 'Airplane' and Jack Shears from Scissor Sisters.

Musically, !!! are essentially house-infused indie punk. They are not a million miles away from contemporaries LSD Soundsystem, but they also bring flashes of what could be described as 'baggie' – New York's answer to the Happy Mondays?

!!!'s slight failing is the lack of variety on offer in their back catalogue. Each song follows what becomes a very familiar theme. Unlike the aforementioned LCD Soundsystem they lack an emotional connect. True, LCD do often just do daft and repetitive, but there is the occasional emotional punch in the heart from some tracks.

The trick when seeing !!! is not to think about anything too much and let yourself be carried away. This was clearly the tactic for many of the crowd in Manchester, as a good humoured stage invasion demonstrated. !!! are a party band and appreciating them for what they do best brings great rewards.

Rating: 4/5