The Grates in the UK

photo by underexposed.org.uk

The Grates – ‘Trampoline’

I think my attendance at The Grates’ London gigs might just about be approaching double figures… they seem to have been practically living in the UK over the last few months. Either that or just non-stop touring everywhere, which I expect is the more likely scenario. Apparently, these guys are really popular in Australia, but I’m not convinced they’ve yet made a serious impact on the UK scene. The notorious NME dismissed their album with a disappointing 4/10 and despite the seemingly ubiquitous presence in terms of gigs, other than the occasional interview, I really haven’t seen a great deal of coverage about them. Being on a major label (sharing a roster with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, no less), I can’t help but feel a little anxious about their future here if they don’t start generating more of that all important “buzz”.

The band headlined Kings College last week, and there were plenty of people there, but it was by no means full and who knows how much of the crowd was made up of ex-pats rather than hip young Londoners. But it was another great performance, with Patience strutting her stuff in a magnificent white tutu and breaking out into random dog yelps here and there. Crazy as ever then. Apparently they’d had a load of stuff stolen the night before, but you would never have guessed it. How refreshing to watch a band perform and actually seem to be enjoying it. Certainly a welcome antidote to playing it “cool” and looking miserable. Maybe the UK just needs a little longer to digest such undiluted fun.

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