!!! (London Koko, 07/11/07)

Having missed out on semi-legendary disco-funk-punk act !!! (pronounced ‘Chk Chk Chk’) three times already this year, I finally was allowed the opportunity to rectify this unfortunate state of affairs. Support came from Holy F**k, the great discovery of this year’s Glastonbury Festival whose accomplished set was almost worth the price of admission alone. Like a more accessible step-brother to Battles, they lack the technical razzle-dazzle of the aforementioned math-rock heroes, but their ad-hoc approach and old-school Casio keyboard stylings strike a more endearingly light-hearted note. Their on-stage layout is more inspired than most; the two central members of the band facing each other like wargamers trying to outgeek each-other on the battlefield of glitchy, danceable electronica, their weapons two tables decked with pedals, knobs and sound-distorting devices of all shapes and sizes. Innovative but none-too-serious, they’re a band well worth checking out in their own right.

As for the headliners, they share the same musical palette as LCD Soundsystem with a slightly more lyrical bent, although under the thumping bass and the venue’s notoriously unreliable sound system it was difficult to distinguish anything so subtle as actual words. But hey, !!! are out to make you dance, not think, and in that they succeed with flying colours. Nic Offer’s irrepressible frontman in the vein of Les Savy Fav’s Tim Harrington, and shares that same enviable knack of effortlessly working a crowd; his awful if boundlessly enthusiastic dance moves and disdain for mere rules of health adding a metric ton of charisma to an otherwise no-frills performance. Shannon Funchness, a New York version of The Go! Team’s Ninja added her far stronger vocal skills to the mix on several tracks, and if the rest of the band looked lost on the vast stage of the Koko, it didn’t impact on their proficient musicianship.

If there’s one flaw in the equation, it’s their lack of truly memorable tunes, but to be honest you’ll be too busy jumping around the place to care. Not quite as good as LCDSS I must admit, but don’t let that put you off- they thoroughly deserve their reputation as the party animals of the indie circuit.

(Photo: Holly Erskine (Flickr))