White Rabbits, Christian Silva

Night & Day Cafe, Manchester

Sounding like a young Billy Mackenzie, the über-talented Christian Silva treats the sparse Manchester crowd to his theatrical mash-up of neo-Queen and Radiohead. The boy’s got balls too – after proclaiming Roy Orbison as “the greatest voice of our time” – he ferociously nails a cover of the Big O’s ‘You Got It’. Impressive stuff.

Tonight’s headline act, White Rabbits, are further proof that the New York indie scene is having a rather good year. Not content with exporting caped-crusaders MGMT and the cerebral Vampire Weekend, the Big Apple now provides us with this Brooklyn-based six-piece. It’s the first night of their UK tour and, initially, the boys seem caught in the headlights of a strangely low turnout. You can imagine their disappointment; cool New York band + cracking debut album + fawning music press = sold out shows. Apparently not.

However, showcasing the best of Fort Nightly they soon find their frenetic energy with a riotous version of ‘The Plot’. Steve Patterson is particular intense, all menacing vocals and violent piano. A Costello-like new song (‘Fox Hunting’) fuses into a chaotic ‘Navy Wives’ in which several band members play Patterson’s keyboards. It all suggests a Harvard-educated The Specials.

They end with a storming ‘Kid On My Shoulders’. The boys then leap off stage and are gone into the night, with no encore and no acknowledgment. Not entirely happy bunnies, then? John Freeman

Issue #51 - I Told You This Would Be A Good Issue

Featuring Biffy Clyro, Of Montreal, Duke Special, Frightened Rabbit, Cold War Kids, Jay Reatard, Pat Mills, and more.