Russian Standard Vodka Originals Present: Noisettes/Chew Lips
HMV Forum, London
20/05/2010

Tag the word free in front of anything and watch people flock. Associate an event with copious amounts of alcohol and see the crowds surge. Lay on an event that combines the two in some kind of glorious alco-musical frenzy – as is the case at London’s HMV Forum tonight – and, well, you’re onto a winner.

This particularly works in favour for electro three-piece, Chew Lips, who emerge to a heaving 2,000-strong crowd for their support slot. Kicking off with slow burning album opener, ‘Eight’, and pounding through the likes of singles ‘Karen’, ‘Salt Air’ and ‘Solo’, the trio do a pretty sterling job of ensnaring the largely oblivious throng in their synth-ridden net.

In terms of show-stopping however, it’s hard to find a front woman more attention-grabbing than Noisettes‘ Shingai Shoniwa. Given the band’s drastic sonic about-turn to shiny, Motown-tinged 60s pop, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Shoniwa’s actually a bit of a wild card – prone to scaling anything in sight and throwing herself about the stage like something out of Cirque Du Soleil.

Having bounced through an hour of ‘Wild Young Hearts’ cuts (with a satisfyingly nostalgic ‘Scratch Your Name’ thrown in for good measure), tonight’s flourish is a slightly perilous rendition of ‘Atticus’, with the singer hanging precariously off a railing 25ft up in the air. Now, you don’t get that with Keane do you?

Lisa Wright