Photo: Elleni Toumpas

When pretty frontman Mikey Tomlinson says Yves Klein Blue has never had a better support than tonight, there’s more substance to it than a silly throwaway line thanking Picasso. Yes, GoMA’s exhibition is stunning and accessible, even to a complete art n00b like me, but the vocal crowd jostling to watch the almost ubiquitous local boys must be one of their biggest audiences yet, feeling more like a sold out Arena than an art show.

Watching YKB tonight, a band whom I’ve seen play many times and whose EP I regard as exciting, I try to decide why it is I just don’t feel the same connection live. Mikey is a bona fide frontman, entertaining just to watch, but as is often the case, his vocals are largely drowned out by the rest of the band. For the first half hour of the short set, most songs feature a wilfully chaotic blend of guitar, bass, drums and keys, often almost playing to their own agenda. It’s a potentially interesting device but used so often, and once up and running rarely changed, my mind wanders lost in a melange of noise. Towards the set’s end, radio favourite Polka elicits teenage squeals, and finally gets my sober feet moving. It’s more than the familiarity. The song creeps its way from a semi-stripped back arrangement into its inevitable noisy climax, carrying us with it instead of starting in a cloud of bluster that doesn’t relent throughout. The majority of punters react entirely entertained by the show, and while I remain a fan of the group as a whole, I can’t help but wonder if less could be more.

SIMON TOPPER

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