Ok, so I’ve been in London for exactly six weeks and I’ve just seen the best show of 2016 and quite possibly a top ten show of my life. English supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets made a triumphant return home to London with a two night stint at the glorious Alexandra Palace. As if that wasn’t enough to sell out two nights at the Ally Pally, add up-and-coming London buzz band Yak and Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes and you have one of the best lineups on the planet at the moment.
For those not familiar, The Last Shadow Puppets are an English supergroup consisting of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Miles Kane (The Rascals, solo artist), James Ford (Simian, Simian Mobile Disco, producer), and Zach Dawes (Mini Mansions). The band released their debut album The Age Of The Understatement in 2008. Following a lengthy hiatus, they returned with their sophomore effort Everything You’ve Come To Expect earlier this year.
This was my first time seeing these guys live and it was quite a spectacle. The headliners of the evening opened up with a whirlwind of pink confetti blasting from the stage that continued to rain down on the audience for almost the entire first song which came in the form of the Smiths’ classic “Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Love Me.” Joined on stage by Smiths guitar man Johnny Marr, it was a pleasant and unexpected surprise that lit up the packed hall. TLSP wasted no time all keeping the party going as they blasted right into the high energy pep of “Standing Next to Me” from their 2008 debut.
First observations beyond the fact that Johnny Marr made an appearance, is that Alex Turner is quite the showman. He took to the stage with a persona that was somewhere between Michael Hutchence and Rebel Without a Cause era James Dean during a photo shoot for the cover of GQ. But it worked, and it added an air of mystique that is clearly missing from rock ‘n’ roll today. Opposite the modern-day crooner is Miles Kane’s no frills approach to letting his friend shine in the spotlight for the moment.
Other highlights from the set included a blistering version of The Fall’s “Totally Wired” which saw Miles Kane owning the stage in a Johnny Rotten manner, and of course several songs from the brilliant new album which I highly recommend.
Opening the show was a newish band from London that’s buzzing across all of Europe called Yak. These guys are sort of like MC5 crossed with The Velvet Underground but completely full of piss and vinegar. Their songs are stellar, their stage presence is electrifying, and front man Oli Burslem could be the reincarnation of Kurt Cobain in the early days of Nirvana. It was a fucking amazing performance and immediately afterwards I bought the latest record Alas Salvation and it’s my favorite record of 2016 so far. I can’t tell if Oli loves or hates photographers but I think I got some of the best shots of my life and can’t wait to shoot them again.
YAK
GAZ COOMBES
Check out hi-res shots from the show for Yak here and The Last Shadow Puppets here.
Were you at the show for either night one or night two? What did you think of Yak? Please join the conversation in the comment section below or tweet to Jason directly at @jasonmillerca.
