Friday 17/02/06 Orson, The Motorettes, The Puzzle @ Islington Bar Academy, London

The popularity of tonight‘s last minute headline replacement, Orson, is growing rapidly. So rapidly in fact that tonight’s Tiscali Showcase suffers a 90 minute delay so that they can record a session for the BBC. But after standing around in the cold, there is a palpable tingle in the air as the crowd file in, eager to see what they have to offer.

Since moving to London from Hungary, The Puzzle have had a busy schedule of constant touring, and it’s obvious that they are loving every second. Lead singer George and drummer György both sport the biggest smiles you’ll ever see, grinning their way through the set - even the mandatory surly female bassist cracks a smile. This happiness shines through in the music - ‘Sunrise’, ’Let the Sun Shine’ … the song titles speak for themselves. You would have to have a heart of pure steel to watch The Puzzle and fail to grin a little. 

The Futureheads have called The Motorettes the best band in the world - after a matter of minutes it’s clear that this is an excellent bit of self-promotion by the former, as the two bands are practically identical. From the outset, The Motorettes employ the unmistakable acapella harmonies and sporadic bursts of loud guitars that made the Futureheads famous, throwing in unnecessary hand claps and ‘ooo ooo ooo’s wherever possible. If the similarity isn’t obvious enough the band play their own ‘Hounds of Love’, a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire’. Like the Futureheads, The Motorettes take the original, throws in some melodies, some harmonies, and some clangy guitars, and produce a great singalong crowd-pleaser. But as the array of flying Vs on stage suggest, there is something a little rockier about these lads - as the band belt out their current single, ’Super Heartbeats’ they unleash a tumult of squealing guitars, with the bassist creating a subterranean rumble as he beats his guitar into submission. Great fun, but painfully unoriginal.

There's a mad rush to the front of tonight’s tiny venue as Orson arrive unannounced. To look at, they’re an odd bunch - the mixture of sharp suits, flat caps, huge tattoos, and spiky Mohawks makes for an interesting Duran Duran / Scissor Sisters / NOFX hybrid. The band fly into ‘Only Trying to Help’ from the forthcoming album Bright Idea that, in places, harks back to the same era of classic rock celebrated by bands such as the Darkness. But whereas Messrs Hawkins & co. have never attempted to take themselves seriously, Orson play sentimental love songs, which unfortunately become somewhat cheesy at times.

Elsewhere, twiddly guitar solos, and Rolling Stones-esque riffs laid over bouncy, upbeat disco drums get everyone dancing like fools. But singer Jason Pebworth’s voice that doesn’t quite fit - he proves a little less Mick Jagger and a little more Bryan Adams in his perfect pitch, and dulcet tones. Orson could be on their way to being another commercially accessible soft rock outfit, Maroon 5 meets the Scissor Sisters, and Pebworth oozes an onstage arrogance that suggests he knows it. The biggest cheer of the night comes for Orson’s current hit ‘No tomorrow’, the most downloaded iTune in the history of the world, ever. This says something about the mass commercial appeal of this dance/rock crossover, which has the whole room shaking bits and pieces and clapping away happily.

Pebworth explains the band’s late arrival to gigwise after the show. ‘We did a show with some guy, Dermott O’Leary??’. Ahh, of course, Radio 2 … where else?!