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Mindless Self Indulgence - 25th April 2008 - Birmingham Academy
Support - Templeton Pek
Tonight is a homecoming gig for Birmingham-based support Templeton Pek. They tell the crowd they're excited to be playing such a big venue in their hometown, and then prove it with an energetic performance that sees the frontman clambering all over the speaker stacks. Templeton Pek are occasionally a surprising band, toying with different elements to see what works and what doesn't. For the most part, they sound like a band searching for their identity but, when it all comes together, there is a glimmer of great things to come. Templeton Pek deliver stadium-sized choruses, served with lashings of post-hardcore guitars and some interesting and varied vocal work. They're are an enjoyable band to watch, who will hopefully continue to progress and fulfill some of the potential on show tonight.Incendiary self-styled punks Mindless Self Indulgence file onstage to a tongue-in-cheek classical refrain, and the crowd's roar swells with the appearance of each additional band member. By the time frontman Jimmy Urine steps onstage, there is a real danger of going permanently deaf. Then, the instantly recognizable riff of 'Shut Me Up' kicks in and the screams reach entirely new levels. The venue explodes into circle pits as no-one can quite believe they're hearing this much-loved song so early in the night. The unsuspecting are toppled as the circle pits swell and the room fills with the sound of 2700 voices all screaming "I can't wait for you to shut me up!" in unison. It's an explosive start but then, MSI were hardly going to slip onstage quietly.
With less than a week to go before the release of MSI's fourth studio album 'If,' this show is all about the new. There are new songs aplenty, from the RnB-tinged bounce of 'Issues' to the surprisingly heavy 'Animal,' and all the places MSI stop off in-between. With a formidable six new songs on the setlist, so much previously unheard material could have easily killed off crowd enthusiasm. But the crowd bounces happily along to one new song after another, testament to just how entertaining MSI are live.
As always, MSI are only half about the music, the rest is about the entertainment. Halfway through the set, they take a leaf out of Green Day's book and drag a fan onstage to help them perform 'Faggot.' Even the fact that the unlucky girl doesn't know any of the lyrics doesn't break MSI's stride, as what could have been a hideous embarrassment for the band is exploited for typically cheap laughs. "When in doubt, scream your head off!" Urine commands, and the girl complies, shrieking into the microphone until everyone in the room shifts uncomfortably. More madness ensues when Urine strips and demands the crowd throw him an outfit onstage, which results in the spectacle of the frontman performing uber-slick 'Straight To Video' clad in fairy wings and a bra.
Ultimately, MSI's talent for entertainment would mean very little if they didn't have the songs to back it up. Fortunately, they have them in abundance. 'Capitol P' is hilariously-dumb pop-punk, 'Straight To Video' is Marilyn Manson doing dance music, and 'Faggot' is an underappreciated classic. MSI's skewed banter provides the finishing touches to a bizarrely brilliant gig. When irritatingly-addictive punk/electro/rock/rap/something-else meets the circus that is MSI, the result is a punk cabaret quite unlike anything you've seen before. Go and see MSI now, before the whole world catches on to how great they are.
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