Cobra Starship
Academy 2, Manchester
05/02/2010

Trust us, you’ve never seen a live band like Family Force 5. All at once they resemble jailbirds in matching striped tops, baseball players in knee pads and sports boots, the Incredible Hulk with oversized fists in swampy green stage lights, and a triumphant wrestler in a gaudy championship belt. It’s baffling and we hardly have time to keep up with what’s going on as each member performs their own special stage theatrics, tied together with music that has as many different elements to it as their outfits. The phrases ‘punk crunk’ and ‘emo rap’ have been uttered before and it’s all very tongue-in-cheek but also very very good. There are fans from 2006 and 2009, and Family Force 5 are keeping them all thoroughly entertained.  Cobra Starship’s fan-base is similar and the dedicated “I’ve liked them since their first UK show” fans know all the lyric changes, cheesy dance routines and in-jokes.  It may sound cringeworthy but it’s these little things that make the band exciting to watch, with frontman Gabe Saporta’s suitably witty onstage banter tying it all together. This cheeky attitude also extends to their catchy pop songs, with ‘Guilty Pleasure’ and ‘Snakes On A Plane’ keeping the older fans happy, and recent hit ‘Good Girls Go Bad’ showing us exactly why they’ve sold out tonight’s show. Tracks from their new album ‘Hot Mess’ fit seamlessly into a lovingly familiar set and we find ourselves dancing along as the party atmosphere is infectious.  Name-dropping either Family Force 5 or Cobra Starship won’t gain you any hipster points, but sneak out to one of their gigs incognito and you’ll see exactly how much fun it is.

Justine Trickett