Van She do Koko

Various London clubs have offered Fresher’s Week deals, yet none of them were quite as enticing as Koko’s in Camden; an old theatre, with the stalls replaced with a dance floor, the circle with a bar and a 21st century sound system squeezed onto the Victoria stage. It’s a beautiful venue which still retains its classical architecture and offers some of the best in ‘up and coming’ live music. Last Friday, it was the turn of the Aussies with Van She, supported by Sans Cisco to provide the entertainment for its Club NME night.

Normally £2 before 10:30, £4 before 12 and £7 after, the night was open for free in celebration of freshers’ week and once your correspondent had bagged himself and his friends’ entry, we joined Sans Cisco’s supporting set.

Sans Cisco dot the ‘i’ in indie. Or at least try to. Top buttons done up and beards carefully groomed, they were fun and likeable, if only a little bit like any other indie-pop band. They performed live well though, each player distinguishable and useful, preventing the crafted melodies being lost in a decibel intensive live mash. They also moved their drummer, Scarlett Stevens, forwards to front left. It’s nice to see a drummer showing presence and not just relying on being loud to be seen. Some songs were predictable – “na na na na na” is no longer a good enough theme, it just isn’t. Finishing on their single ‘Awkward’ though, a soulful duet between the lead and the drummer, they left the stage as a successful support, but with the audience very much aware that the highlight was when a randomer jumped on the stage and shouted into the lead singer’s mic.

It was then the turn of head-liners Van She to take the stage. Hailing from Sydney, they’ve supported Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Daft Punk, Bloc Party and Phoenix. No pressure then. Electro-pop reminiscent of the ‘80s with big synthesiser sounds, listening to their recordings they are thoughtfully produced if a little repetitive. A less diverse Django Django if you like. Live; well, very similar, except that now repetitive isn’t such a bad thing. They played their new music, because, well, nobody knows their old stuff so they may as well. Highlights included ‘Kelly’, ‘So High’ and finishing with ‘Jamaica’, so called because it features a steel pan sample which disappointingly wasn’t performed live. Perhaps they save that for Daft Punk. That said, it’s a brilliant song which forced even myself to pretend to dance. It was going so well.

More venues need to incorporate live music into club nights, so much more fun than having a DJ blast the same old songs in your general direction. The atmosphere was friendly, progressive and lacked the leery men in the corner or the bikini clad door girls. Give it a go.