Better than: Any show I've seen in a long time.
America hasn't yet fallen under the spell of London trio Noisettes, but it's gonna happen soon. They are well known in their homeland, and their latest single, "Never Forget You," leaps out of my speakers whenever I listen to the BBC. The song is heavily influenced by Motown and old-school soul, but unlike other Brits who have recently mined this vein of music (Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Adele), Noisettes got it right.
The key to the band's charm is Shingai Shoniwa, an exceptional front woman. She has a truly great soul/rock voice that can wrap itself around a song, and she has the onstage abandon of Iggy Pop (but she's much better looking). Last night she prowled the stage barefoot, leading an audience--drawn from all ages and colors--into that middle ground of wanting to dance but not wanting to look away from the stage to see what she might do next.
Driven by drummer Jaime Morrison and fueled on guitar by Dan Smith, the band played a set that drew heavily from their second album, Wild Young Hearts, (to be released in the U.S. on September 22), with a handful of songs from 2007's What's The Time, Mr. Wolf?. Accompanied by a backup singer and occasional help on bass guitar to relieve Shoniwa to sing and enjoin the audience, the group delivered their set with alternating ferocity and tenderness, and we were in their hands. The new material leans toward a more soulful and dance-y sound, but Noisettes haven't lost the edge of their earlier, more guitar-driven and bluesy songs.At one point during the show I made a pit stop, and upon returning to the outer edge of the crowd I saw a semi-circle of people gazing upwards, with cameras flashing madly. There was Shoniwa, hanging from the edge of the balcony, singing one of Noisettes' new songs, "Atticus." I'd read that the front woman has a circus background, and there she was, right over my head, legs and an occasional hand clinging to the railings, singing one of the loveliest tunes from the new album.
Now that's how to put on a show.
Critic's Notebook
Personal bias: Watching Noisettes perform, I was struck with a sense of historical significance much like when I used to see R.E.M. and Sonic Youth in intimate clubs. It was the feeling of seeing something undiscovered and nearly embryonic that would soon be absorbed into the common musical parlance. I was glad to have glimpsed Noisettes in a small setting, as it's likely this won't be possible for much longer.
Post game: Jaime Morrison and Dan Smith were happy to come out and mingle with fans after the show. Smith kindly showed me his guitar collection while he wondered why he gets pulled over by the police so often in SF (he cranks up the English accent to avoid tickets). Morrison said Noisettes are insistent about being headliners at this point in their career, and he was confident that they'd come back and play larger venues in San Francisco. Don't miss them when they return.
