Face Of Cheam

Wednesday night I went to ULU in Malet Street to see the ‘next big things’ The Ting Tings. The problem with bands nowadays is that they get too big too quickly. The Ting Tings have only had two singles yet here they are selling our ULU and playing the Astoria in a month or so when really they should be struggling to play in front of a couple of hundred in a back room of a pub. The press are somewhat to blame and have hyped this band immensely, but when a band whose music is as yet unknown plays a large venue it leads to an uneasy atmosphere in the crowd with some idiot elements not even paying attention to the music. Having now seen them, are they worth the hype? Probably not. They are a two piece with a male drummer who’s drumkit is massive (size isn’t everything) and a female vocalist guitarist. However, this is not the reverse of the White Stripes, as the girl purely strums a few chords and they become reliant on backing tape for a synth pop backing to their songs. The forty-five minute set was good and has probably persuaded me to buy their debut album when it is out, but for their live show I fear there will be not much difference when I play to CD.