Live Review

BLT Festival – Brick Lane, Shoreditch

• 14th Aug 2009

Conclusive proof last night that theres no such thing as a free lunch. I toodled down to Shoreditch on the premise of free Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches, only to find it was all a con, and I had really signed up for the Brick Lane Takeover festival.

Half a dozen venues all within walking distance of each other, all showcasing the next-big-things of 2009, I was able to put my food concerns to one side and check out some great bands who have been on my radar for some time.

Citadels conjure up images of The Arcade Fire but with a subtly English undertone. Band members are all hitting drums at various points and it takes few of their infectious beats to get the early evening crowd dancing. A quick hop over to Cargo means we can catch The X-Certs, a Scottish band who Ive heard much of but never caught live dished out their anthemic rock while a sizable fanbase sang back every word. Harrow band Rogues charmed all and sundry with their ethereal dreamy space-pop with songs such as Carnival and Merry-go-Round surefire hits. The its back to 93 Feet East for one of Londons favourite new singer-songwriters, Frank Turner. Poignant songs of holding on to your youth, friendship and of course Nambucca, captured the hearts of a packed room.

While the talent was both cutting-edge and diverse there were few out-and-out major bands as you would expect to find at events such as Camden Crawl. Maybe this is no bad thing, for while all the venues seemed busy, there were no queues to get in, and theres nothing like a good queue to dampen the enthusiasm of even the most dedicated gigger. More than anything, BLT illustrated what a vibrant community this part of town is with on every corner and quality breaking acts to fill them And when events like this are in such a good cause, MacMillan Cancer Support, everyones a winner.