8/1/2008 Les Anges, Big Num & OK Pilot @ Lark In The Park

Subject	Les Anges, Big Num & OK Pilot @ Lark In The Park
PostedDate	1/8/2008
	An interesting tuesday night at Lark In The Park in a rather damp Islington. My main reason for going to this gig was to see the excellent Big Num, but as is often the case at this venue I discovered some more good bands.  I'd already heard of Les Anges and had listened to them on MySpace. I was impressed enough with what I heard to make me interested in seeing them live. Apparently they are quite well known in their native Belgium. Yes, Belgium. Well it's about time somebody from that country made amends for Plastic Bertand! Les Anges are actually very good. It's full on ROCK music - quite heavy, but without being metal. There are tunes and plenty of heavy riffing. Something which helps set them apart is their keyboard player, who as well as adding colour and texture to their sound also has those rare things in keyboard players (apart from in Honeykill) - charisma and stage presence. They play tightly and their sound very powerful - it's something Queens Of The Stone Age fans might get into, although Les Anges steer away from that bands tendency to tedious self indulgence. The last song is particularly memorable due to the keyboard player Sandra's amazing use of a theramin - at least I think that's what it was? This is a band who I immediately wanted to go and see again... Regular readers of my ramblings will already be familiar with Big Num. They turned in a tight and snappy performance tonight as they always seem to - they are a well polished unit who consistently deliver the goods. They have better songs than most bands and play them very well. Fans of AC/DC are likely to warm to them, although their singer doesn't try to be Bon Scott and seems to have more in common with the late great Phil Lynott. The last band are completely new to me. OK Pilot have travelled all the way from Exeter to deliver a short but punchy set of punk rock. They look more like an American punk version of the Proclaimers, but sound as far away from the Scottish brothers as their native lands are. Appearances can be deceptive and this band's dual vocal fronted attack is quite fierce, but they do actually have some decent tunes. Certainly worth checking out if they come to your town. It was a really good night out - especially for a rainy tuesday. Although I missed the first couple of bands I still saw three really good ones and even the rain didn't dampen my spirits as I walked to the station afterwards.

PS: This venue is now closed.