Arriving at The Laundry in Hackney, the first impression of the venue was that it was its size. It was big; not big in an O2 sense, but big enough considering the youthfulness of Clean Bandit. They may have been floating around the blogosphere and playing festivals for a while, but it was only with the release of ‘Rather Be’ that the band propelled into mainstream consciousness. Considering their unique take on pop/dance, the venue was suitably trendy; blue lights illuminated the white washed walls of the old warehouse as the crowed packed in.
Kicking things off with single, ‘Mozart’s House’, the tone was set. Subtle pop ditty, ‘Rihanna’ sounded wonderful, as the two singers propelled the song forward, giving the cutesy track a certain edge not found on the studio version. As they moved through the set, it was easy to see why Clean Bandit are the darlings of the moment. Despite performing a set of relatively unknown tracks, the crowd were with them the whole way; the emphatic exuberance from the band an infectious wave of power impossible not to get the listener involved. Cover versions of SBTRKT’s ‘Wildfire’ and 90s club classic ‘Show Me Love’ were welcomed by the audience. These interjections of well-known tracks sat perfectly alongside the examples from their debut album, New Eyes.
Closing the set with ‘Rather Be’ was obviously fitting. At this moment the crowd were completely wild, and obligatory mobile phones were hoisted into the air. In fact, one refreshing thing about the show was the lack of mobile interaction. People were so engrossed that the dull fuzz of LED screens was kept to minimum. The impression was that people wanted to hear the music, something that’s certainly exciting as the band head towards what’s sure to be super stardom.
The setlist for the show was as follows:
1. Mozart’s house
2. Rihanna
3. UK Shanty
4. Dust Clears
5. Wildfire
6. Up Again
7. Extraordinary
8. A&E
9. Come Over
10. Cologne
11. Nightingale
12. Show Me Love
13. Rather Be
Clean Bandit release their debut album, New Eyes, on June 2nd via Atlantic Records.
The group embark on a UK tour May 5th. Find tickets here!
