Allo Darlin’, Portland Arms, Cambridge
Live ReviewsBy rights, tonight should have been an abject disaster; instead it's an utter triumph.
21st August 2010, Portland Arms, Cambridge / By Simone Scott Warren
If asked to describe Cambridge in a few short sentences, it's safe to assume that the abundance of cyclists might warrant a mention, once the obvious students, Sid Barrett and gleaming spires have been done with. Ironic then, that on the day that Allo Darlin' are due to play a sold out gig in the back room of the city's Portland Arms, their drummer decides against donning a helmet, pops out for a ride on his own bicycle and experiences an altogether different form of transportation, the humble ambulance. This leaves Allo Darlin' with not one, but two conundrums – Mike, the aforementioned non cycle helmet sporting tub thumper, will not only be missing tonight, but was also their lift up to Cambridge. And Cambridge, it transpires, is blessed with a rubbish train timetable.A lesser band might have cancelled, but Allo Darlin' are not a lesser band. For the opening song, they're really trying, they've explained the problem to us and given that entrance was only a fiver, no one seems to mind, exactly, even if we are aware that the band are struggling to keep time. Elizabeth Morris, shoeless antipodean indie princess, jokingly enquires as to whether there are any drummers in the audience, and a brave, but almost certainly foolhardy, man named Zak steps up to the stage. Now, all of us packed into this tiny room, we know that Zak has just made a mistake, a mistake probably fuelled by too much beer. There's no way he can pull this off, it's going to be completely embarrassing as he shuffles off after one badly drummed song.
Except, he's good, he's very good. And even more unlikely, he appears to have spent the last three months practising the drums to Allo Darlin's impeccable debut album.
And so, with the band pausing between each song to check that Zak knows it, (he does), and also whether he knows fellow resident Stephen Hawking (he doesn't), the tiny back room is getting hotter with each song. If you've ever wanted to see a woman literally rocking out with a ukulele, then Allo Darlin' are the band for you. Announcing that they're going to play “one of the hits”, they launch into a furious version of “Polaroid Song”, and the crowd (population: couples) dance and sing along to each other, grinning nearly as hard as the band are. They're even better live than they are on record, far more energetic than the album suggests, Elizabeth jumps up and down with gusto during every bridge. 'Kiss Your Lips' builds itself up beautifully to a singalong refrain comprised of Weezer's 'El Scorchio' (“You swung your feet and sung my favourite Weezer song / So I sung along / I'm a lot like you so please hello, I'm here, I'm waiting...”), and before we know it, the band is dedicating to 'My Heart Is A Drummer' to the exquisite Zak, who is still keeping perfect time (and by now has been given even more drum kit to play with).
Bereft of a set list, the band ask us between each song what we want to hear, and we're all quite grateful when Zak picks 'Let's Go Swimming'. On record, they may sound a little on the twee side, but live, Elizabeth pushes her voice to it's absolute limit, and by now we're scared her voice might crack and break completely. She's not, as it happens, she's more fearful that the last train back to London is at 11.10pm and they want to fit in a few more songs and sell some merch before then.
By rights, tonight should have been an abject disaster, a lesson to us all on the importance of protecting our noggins next time we decide to nip to the shops on our bikes, but instead it's been an utter triumph. But it does leave us with a few unanswered questions. Did we all miss a trick, is drumming really easy and we could've actually been living out our rock star dreams if only we'd known (or is Zak just really good)? How do you play the uke whilst jumping and not lose time? Will Mikey be kicked out of the band and replaced with a cycle helmet wearing Zak? And did the band catch the last train home? Answers on a postcard, with the indiest picture you can draw on the front, please...
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