The Shakes - Water Rats Theatre, London - Friday 1st December 2006

A Friday night at the Water Rats, in London's salubrious Kings Cross, to see a friend of a friend's band. The Water Rats is known of course for being the venue for the first ever Oasis London gig, so no pressure to live up to anything there! The band, The Shakes, have been signed to Tough Cookie records for a little while now, and have even managed to get a couple of promising-sounding singles out there.

I arrived at the venue pretty late, so missed all of the support acts, but did at least have time to get to the bar for a quick pint, before heading through to the back room. A great venue, with a lower floor, and a raised back part, so that both tall and short people alike can all see.

The Shakes came on stage just after 10pm, and seemed to be getting an instantly great reception from a good sized hardcore of fans. A four-piece band, they play good old jangly indie pop songs, which sounded comfortingly familiar, but nicely fresh at the same time. The atmosphere was one of jubilation, almost like a party, attended by people that had clearly been following this band for a while.

As a newcomer, I was impressed enough to look out for them as they continue to build their fanbase. They sounded good enough, not terribly exciting, but a pretty decent band nonetheless. Probably more at the Keane end of the spectrum than at the Libertines end - but nowhere near as bad as Keane! I'll definitely go to see them again if I'm at a loose end and they are nearby.