Future of the Left

Rain. That's how Future of the Left describe themselves live if your star sign is Aquarius or Aries. Anyway, aside from a drunken Twitter exchange, Future of the Left and the crowd were magnificent at the Garage in London. I believe they choose their own venues and this was perfect. Arndales were a solid support act and Dingus Khan elevated maters with a raucous and humorous set, with band members in wedding gowns, as a farmer and in a nappy. The sold out crowd was then treated to a full throttle performance, starting off with some old songs before launching into How To... album opener Bread, Cheese, Bow and Arrow. There were also a couple of Mclusky covers. After going through the first few songs without much comment, Andy Falkous proved himself in fine form with the main gist of his stage banter taking the piss out of how self-absorbed London is. He also asked for a dedication to You Need Satan More Than He Needs You to veer from his usual two suggestions for a source of hatred but all the crowd could muster was 'John', whoever that was. Probably too adrenaline-pumped. There were also a couple of mentions of Metallica, most notably before the last hurrah which was an inspired medley that included Lapsed Catholics and French Lessons. It then transitioned into an awesome jam, with bassist Julia jumping into the crowd with her guitar and carrying on playing even while getting carried away and the lead coming out; the drummer rearranging his kit, handing some of it to the front of the crowd and smashing it from there; Andy playing a squealing riff on his guitar upside down on the rim of the drums. A pretty well-honed Welsh punk act by now, then, and one I need to visit again when they are back on tour.