Review by Jo Lloyd, photos by Mark Lloyd
Detroit rockers Electric Six brought their ‘High Voltage’ performance to Birmingham’s O2 Academy.
Opening act Only the Good were a bit of a let down I’m afraid, looking like they’d just turned up to rehearse rather than perform along side one of the most underrated bands of the last ten years. While this is apparently the third time the Dance Commander has had the band support their Birmingham dates, I struggled to warm to them. They clearly had a fair bit of support being a local band, but personally I can’t say that I’ll be clearing my diary for their next gig.
Next act onto the stage was shocking in the best possible way. In a haze of sweat, bum bags and, well, stomach, Andy D twerked his way through his high energy performance. Accompanied on stage the love of his life, this duo whipped the crowd up into a frenzy of bemusement. A force to be reckoned with, Andy belted his way through some hilarious rap tinged tracks, leaving the stage to high five the crowd, hugging people as he went. It’s abundantly clear how popular Andy D is amongst the crowd as everyone is dancing and cheering along with his party vibe. Rapping about sex, friends, partying and mystical animals his performance is upbeat and final track ‘Now I Can Dance’ was a clear favourite.
After being so successfully warmed up by Andy D, the crowd were well and truly hyped for the entrance of Electric Six. Looking dapper in his suit and slick backed hair, Dick Valentine and his cohorts plunged straight into ‘Karate Lips’ from new album Human Zoo. Treating the intimate crowd to a mixture of tracks spanning the bands 14 year back catalogue, the crowd went expectedly wild for ‘Gay Bar’ and ‘Gay Bar Part Two’ as well as the incredible ‘Danger! High Voltage’.
‘It Gets Hot’ saw a welcome return to the stage for Andy D and the funk of ‘Improper Dancing’ saw the crowd bouncing along with delight. Valentine is clearly a master of stage presence and most definitely the quintessential front man. His dancing, posing and amusing interactions with the audience had them all eating out the palm of his hand for the entire set.
Although controversial to some, Electric Six put in a solid performance and hopefully they’ll be back on their annual trip with Andy D next year.
