Hard Fi
Cambridge Junction, 2.11.05

From the first bars of 'Unnecessary Trouble', the crowd were jumping up and down with the energy of a million bottles of lucozade! Richard's 'What are you lookin at?' glare and Kai's swagger made the guys look every inch the hooligans they appear in their videos. Of course they're actually a lovely bunch of lads but on stage they're a sight to behold. Nerves? If they were there they certainly didn't show.

Their performance was cocky and aggressive and downright fantastic. The crowd went wild and beer got chucked everywhere in what seemed to be a gesture of true appreciation. Three songs in and Richard shouted, 'Well our audiences are normally a bit mad but this has got to top them all! Three songs and I'm already soaked in beer!' And so were we but nobody cared- we were all having too much fun. Their cover of 'Seven Nation Army' went down a storm and of course for 'Feltham is Singing Out' the lighters came out and we were all swaying. Just when we thought it couldn't get much better, we had 'Cash Machine' and 'Hard To Beat' in a row and we were screaming and clapping so much it hurt!

They ran through all of their debut album 'Stars of CCTV', with such enthusiasm and excitement that literally any song could have been their biggest hit. Everyone knew all the words to every song and the atmosphere was electric. They finished with the anthemic 'Living For The Weekend' and the whole place turned into a giant mosh pit! The energy they create is unbelievable. I've never seen The Junction so packed and I think it's safe to say they won't be playing small venues like that anymore.

As the gig ended, I looked round to see that the place was filled with people from every walk of life and from every age group: the lads in their trackies, the emos with their black uniforms, the indie kids, the footie supporters, the indie adults, the punks, the mums and dads, and they were all shouting and singing along.

Hard-fi aren't just the sound of pissed-off kids in Everytown, they're the sound of Everyone in Everytown. It's a big sound and if tonight's anything to go by, it's not going away anytime soon...

Francesca Frazer

Pic by Mike Warburton, see more from this gig and other bands too at
www.team-skinny-racing.com

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