Black Kids In Town - Gig Review!

It was my first visit to the newly named Carling Academy. On a wet and windy September evening in Oxford, after a crazy busy day in the office, I had another first awaiting me.

One of the most raved about bands this year was coming to town. I had a ticket and no matter what the weather, whom I was going with or how hard my day had been, I was going! And was going to make the best of it! After spending almost thirty incredibly frustrating minutes traversing the smallest of streets and finding not so much as a space large enough to park a push bike, I abandoned my car. I was of course, late. Meeting the friends I hadn't not only seen for four months, but those that had invited me along to the gig tonight. Great.

But little did I know the five-some from Florida were about to make things a whole lot better. Stepping into the Academy and the warm up DJ on stage, it felt a bit like the beginning of one of those gigs you go to in college, you know where at 9pm there’s a chance it could be the best night of you're life but you could just as easily be passed out in the bathroom in a matter of minutes, swimming in a pool of, well, Carling I suppose.

Then it happened, they appeared. The Black Kids leapt onto the stage and the excitement and energy they emitted, well, if I didn’t know better it could have been the very first time they had been let loose with an audience, some instruments and a microphone or two.

It could be the positive press, their stage presence or just the fact they produce great tracks leading you to believe that no band can be that good – but here I was watching them brilliantly perform ‘Listen To Your Body Tonight’ and the crowd did just that – listened. Ok well, shouted, ran riot and screamed as they performed but rightly so, it really was that good.

Pushing the crowd further and further, with the band trying some new tracks as well favorites such as ‘I Wanna Be You’re Limousine’, we jumped, waved and sang along to ninety minutes that felt like nine. They arrived at their finally and it could only have been one song – chants of ‘Not gonna teach you’re boyfriend how to dance with you’ rang through my ears for what seemed like days, not letting me forget the amazingly unforgettable experience that was my first Black Kids gig.

And after all that I still have no clue what those friends have been up to in the last four months...