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Gig Review

Voxtrot / The Godwits
London, Hoxton Bar & Grill

Article written by Ged M - Nov 8, 2007

When this was first announced it looked like September pop perfection: Voxtrot, Fanfarlo and Pete & The Pirates on the same bill. But that gig was postponed because Voxtrot were invited to support Arctic Monkeys on a US tour and the rearranged 5 November date with new line up could only ever be a disappointment.

It kicks off with a guy playing acoustic guitar and his programmed beats, sometimes together and sometimes separately. It’s vaguely folkatronica, it’s not original but it is strangely compelling. He never announces who he is and we never see it recorded everywhere so if this review has stirred your interest, leave a note marked to "the Garth-from-Wayne's-World lookalike” at the tomb of the unknown singer/songwriter. The main support (setting aside a really average DJ) are The Godwits; Folkwits more like (there – I’d promised not to make a cheap joke but they made me do it). They had a very good violin player but all the time changes and strangled cat vocals sound far more prog than is strictly healthy.

Voxtrot have a geeky charm and some great songs. Ramesh Srivastava is a real Anglophile so you’re in for a treat if the midpoint between the Smiths and Belle & Sebastian is your idea of heaven. The set explodes like tonight's London sky when they play anthems like ‘Kid Gloves’ and ‘Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Wives’ at the start and ends on a massive high with 'Firecracker' and ‘The Start of Something’ that mixes up the DNA of tweepop and Motown to spectacular effect. The middle bit had little worth remembering although Ramesh manages to avoid too many of what my cruel colleague calls "Mika moments” (usually when he’s sitting at the keyboard). I could easily put together a mini-album of killer Voxtrot songs – I only wish they’d do the same for their live show.

Links:
http://www.myspace.com/voxtrot