The Hold Steady, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Haze - Koko, London - Wednesday 27th February 2008

The last NME show (for me), of a busy February, and it was off to Koko to see The Hold Steady. They had a decent year last year, but even so, didn't quite make the leap from being something of a quiet cult band, to getting wider appeal. When I saw them at Shepherds Bush Empire, that was the biggest gig they played in the UK all year - and even that was not sold out, came after tickets had been on sale for 3 months, and came a week after a televised Glastonbury appearance that would have only increased the band's fanbase. Strange really, because I think they are great, and can't understand why more people don't like them!

First band on were called The Haze - they seem to be from the West Country, possibly even near Glastonbury. They sounded OK - they seemed to be quite good at what they were doing, but I just didn't really like what they were doing. They were definitely at the harder rock end of the spectrum, with leather jackets to match - and whilst that wasn't bad in itself, at times they did seem a bit like a cliched rock band. Not bad, but not altogether my cup of tea.

The main support band were Bombay Bicycle Club, a band of 16 or 17 year olds from North London. They, along with Cajun Dance Party, are part of a decent music scene involving sixth formers in London, and they were thoroughly excellent tonight. Despite their young age, they seemed to be very accomplished musicians, and they had several really good songs. In fact, I thought that almost all of their songs were excellent, and their live sound was very good indeed. Definitely one to watch out for, a very good band even now, who surely have lots of potential to get better too - I will be seeing them again as soon as possible.

After a fairly short changeover, the venue seemed to fill up very rapidly (with fools who had presumably missed the excellence of Bombay Bicycle Club), and the Hold Steady's big black banner appeared at the back of the stage. They came on to rapturous applause, and went straight into Hot Soft Light, followed by a mental version of Stuck Between Stations. The set was more like the last time I saw them in the UK, rather than their more comprehensive US set. However, generally, most of the songs from Boys And Girls in America were all present and correct during the set.

The set did also give the opportunity to hear some songs from the new album, which generally sounded like very good, straightforward rock songs - most promising. As the set wore on, more people got covered in beer, and the feeling of having a good time spread through the venue - one thing that The Hold Steady are very good at. An encore which wound up with a medley of Southtown Girls and Killer Parties brought the set to an excellent, if familiar close. A very good show, and great to see them again.


So although the band(s) were very good, something has to be said about the venue, and Koko is one of the worst "big" venues in all of London. Shepherds Bush Empire is bad, but Koko is far, far worse. The flat floor, and fairly low stage don't help anybody to see at all well, but the real killer is the bar.

You expect that beer might not be cheap inside a gig venue, but £3.70 for a can of Fosters, inexpertly thrown into a plastic pint pot, is quite frankly a joke. And when the bar staff ROUTINELY (as in, not just occasionally, but every time I went to the bar, and with different bar staff), short change you by skimming £1 off the top, then you know you are in a venue that treats its customers with utter contempt. I wasn't keen on the place before, it has always been expensive, but something definitely seems to be wrong there.

I am going to avoid setting foot in the place from now on, and will avoid going to see bands that are playing there, if I can possibly help it. The live music market may be on a high right now, but bad apples like this don't help the many good venues out there. Good bands, good show, but a rubbish venue.