The London Report Written by Will Scougal   Les Incompetents

TOM VEK
The 100 Club
Oxford St, London, England
 

The 100 Club is one of the most famous music venues in London. The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes all played here long before they were famous.
 
On Tuesday, February 8 th, this dark red walled cavern was packed with people eagerly awaiting the scruffy stage presence of Mr Tom Vek and his band. Tom Vek is fast becoming one of the capitals hottest tickets. A small unassuming man with an infectious smile and a quirky robot-style dance style, he slays the crowd with his dead- pan lyrics and a funky bass backed up by an incredible drum section.

Although it wasn't the smoothest of gigs (a few of Vek's lyrics fell flat mid-set), Tom laughed off these problems with an almost carefree attitude. Vek seemed to be enjoying the fun of the moment, a feeling that translated well to the crowd. And it was a great night for the band too. Tom had been going it alone until his record label, Tummy Touch, hooked him up with the some guys so he could form a band to take on tour. Tom has been touring for the past year, supporting bands like the Bees.
 
Tom's singles If You Want and If I had Changed My Mind were well received by the crowd, but the real gem of the show was the soon to be released I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes. Goodbyes was the AHA moment for me, the moment when I realized tha despite the odd missed note, that this is a band with real talent and a front man to lead them rampaging through 2005.
 
Check out all things Vek and have a listen at: www.tomvek.tv
 

The Ralfe Band
The Spitz, Commercial Rd
London, England

Sitting above a Mexican restaurant in the ultra cool Spitalfields Market is The Spitz, a small venue with a about 200 capacity. On of the best things about The Spitz is the shape, it's a kind of half moon with the stage in the middle and a bar nestling in the corner. This makes for a nice open feel and a relaxed atmosphere and it's easy for everyone to get a good view of what's going on up on the stage.

In this case what was going on was The Ralfe band. Finalists for last years Glastonbury competition for unsigned bands, they have been recently signed by Skint Records. Yes that's right, the big Brighton independent that brought us dance music greats like Fatboy Slim, Freq Nasty and Xpress 2 have signed a folk band!

The crowd was expecting a pretty laid back evening as chairs and tables had been laid out where the dance floor usually sits, so when Dennis Hopper Chopper took to the stage, a one man warm up band with a rabid electric guitar, tonka toy kick drum, hi hat, mic and synth that I can't quite work out how he's playing, everyone takes a couple of steps back.

After that aural rape everyone is relieved to see the Ralfe Band take the stage. But we were all quicly horrified when it turned out that Dennis Hopper Chopper is a member of the Ralfe Band! An air of cautious trepidation descended over the room.

This quickly dissipates as the band soothed us with their brand of Lysergic Acid Folk. The Ralfe's have a great sound. Highlights for me were Woman of Japan, a rambler with a country boy feel that wouldn't out be of place playing on the juke box in the country bar featured in the cult classic The Blues Brothers. Broken TeethSong, the lyrics of which could've been written by Beck, was another high point featuring among the more traditional instruments, a cow bell, a wash boards, a fiddle and an accordion! This band would be great to see on a sunny day on the festival circuit and I hope that's where I see them next. Their album is out this summer and one I would recommend.

Check out Skint Records at www.skint.net and the Ralfe Band at www.ralfeband.com
 
 
 

Les Incompetents
The Infinity Club, Old Burlington St
London , England

The Infinity club is a great little den of iniquity, tucked away in the back streets of the West End just off Regents Street. This club is building good reputation for hot live music by hosting nights like White Heat, which regularly boasts a full house with queues outside to boot!

The promoter, Matty has been doing the night for about a year and is even planning to put out a White Heat single this summer featuring one of the many good acts to have appeared at the club.

On Monday, February 21st, the headline act pulled out at the last minute, so after a big bloke in a dress stopped screaming into the mic, Les Incompetents took to the stage for their big break.

One of the good things about this youthful band is the fact that they have two front men, Fred and Billy. Fred and Billy complement each others style very well with Billy singing, no, grumbling into the mic like a drunk old and Fred preaching to the crowd like some kind of  (also drunk ) medieval poet. For some of the tracks Fred was armed with a home made instrument he built by sticking cow bells, tin boxes and a big tambourine to a bit of wood. Fred dutifully whacked and rapped the thing with a drum stick whenever the feeling came over him.

The guys have a lot of stage presence and entertained the crowd by climbing up the speakers, falling around and generally trying to whip a rather subdued crowd into something of a frenzy. The songs have a folk funk thing going on with nice little hooks that make the songs incredibly danceable and catchy.

The band is still very much in their early stages, they have only been together for a year. And since they have to cointend with with end of school exams (damn they're young!) there were some times during their set where it seemed that they may have been a little short on rehearsal time. But the band definitely has a good thing going on and they have already been offered the chance to put out their first single by 1234 records, a well respected independent with a big hooter of a nose for talent.

www.lesincompetents.co.uk
 
www.1234records.co.uk