 Photo: Aaron Sammut Openers The Cops have a star on the rise, and given that tonight’s performance isn’t too dissimilar to the last time they played the Columbian (though vastly better attended), perhaps it’s best to save judgement for their upcoming headline tour. Radio hit Call Me Anytime goes down a treat as expected, but the crowd are really here to see American dance-punk mentalists !!!, and waiting in the oppressive heat is taxing whether music is playing or not.
Rumours of the band being jet-lagged into catatonia seem worryingly real as the projected on-stage time arrives and passes. However, a ripple through the expectant punters jammed into the Columbian’s corner-oriented dancefloor heralds the appearance of the ‘16-legged groove machine’ known as !!! (chk chk chk for the uninitiated). There’s no real sign of jet lag as the band launch with ballistic energy into tracks from the new album, Myth Takes. Vocalist Nic Offer is a curly-headed dervish, busting out white-boy funk moves on a stage clearly not designed to house this multiple-limbed collective. The temperature rises and rises, nearly peaking with a mid-set rendition of single Heart Of Hearts, but there’s still altitude for the mercury to reach. The now drenched and shirtless band emanate energy like an exposed reactor core, and the radiation reaches as far as the rear bar, causing normally mild-mannered people to start dancing on tables (at least until security kicks them off). An extended final jam even creates a new musical genre – prog-disco-punk-house (mix and match the terms as you see fit – it’s fun!) – and when it all finally ends, an exhausted, elated, and heavily perspiring crowd literally spill onto the street outside. A brilliant, crazy, and memorable show, and for this reviewer, it’s the one to beat this year. TOPHER HEALY
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