Saturday 01/03/03 I Am Kloot, Turin Brakes @ Academy 1, Liverpool

The band I'm here to see started half an hour ago, as the Academy put on an early show. Only I didn't realise and walk in half way through 'Storm Warning' one of the finest tracks from I Am Kloot's debut LP 'Natural History'.

Led by John Bramwell's soft and pained voice they achieve an impressive sound for a band composed simply of drum, bass and acoustic. However their final song 'Life and a Day' - a song recorded for their follow up album due out in late spring tentatively titled 'Cadge a Life' - uses an electric and unlike other songs uses the drums and bass to lead the song. The band is clearly impressed with this but Bramwell doesn't see it as progression. A guitar is a guitar and although Stop, another Natural History track was recorded using an electric they have simply never previously been able to afford the equipment to take on the road.

Tonight, Guy Garvey, singer with Elbow and producer of their debut is onstage to sing 'To You'. Later on I hear Garvey giving nothing but praise - that this was Kloot's finest night of the tour thus far. If they can continue to improve Turin Brakes will have competition rather than support by the time they hit SW9's Brixton Academy.

The headliners themselves have managed to drag an interesting bunch of people out. Students are sitting in corners smoking weed whilst people old enough to be their parents fill what would ordinarily be the mosh pit. Sadly it's the people in the crowd and the light show that interests me more than the band.

Bog standard double acoustic with some lyrics in there somewhere - to be honest all I can remember of their performance was when they joking started David Gray's 'Sail Away' having to defend their piss take to the disapproving crowd. Turin Brakes would do well to busk on the Tube for a few months until they learn what you can really do with an acoustic guitar.

Photo by Thomas Toti :: thomas@gigwise.com