Wednesday 20/02/08 We Are Scientists @ Soho Revue Bar

Take a stroll through Walkers Court, one of the less than salubrious areas of Soho and you’ll be inundated with sex; adult bookshops, adult toyshops, knocking shops and massage parlours all with the promise of a happy ending thrive in great abundance. It’s an area of London where whores and media whores alike stand shoulder to shoulder, and a place where anything is for sale at a price. So where better than the Soho Revue Bar, formerly the legendary Raymond Revue Bar, and self proclaimed “world centre of erotic entertainment”, to host tonight’s very aptly billed ‘An Intimate Evening Without Protection With We Are Scientists’? It’s such a tiny place that the queue easily winds around the corner, attracting curious attention from the areas regular stalkers who think they’re missing out on the premiere of a brand new XXXX film. But once inside, it’s a very different look; chandeliers, disco balls, and pole dancing poles all hint to the clubs infamous past and with a capacity of less than 200, it soon fills up.

Dispensing with the usual support act, tonights warm up comes courtesy of Dynamo - you know, the magician hailing from Bradford. Using playing cards, smashed bottles, audience participation and a pre recorded, as live, interactive David Blaine-esque video link with Natalie Imbruglia (seriously) he successfully flaunts his Northern trickery, wowing the crowd (sort of) in the process.

But there’s no doubt as to who the small yet perfectly formed swarm are here to see and We Are Scientists take the stage to great applause. The venue is so small and personal that bassist Chris Cain jokes that “When I made my son it wasn’t this intimate” before they launch into a beautifully stripped back acoustic rendition of ‘Nobody Move Nobody Gets Hurt’. It’s so natural and unhurried that it’s met with the level of applause it deserves and the evening is set for great things, all of them acoustic. According to lead vocalist Keith Murray “That’s the last one you’re gonna recognise” and the pair almost believably insist that the rest of the night will be made up entirely of Billy Joel covers until a vocal suicide threat from a crowd member persuades them otherwise.

There’s plenty more crowd interaction and banter to come, a recurring theme tonight, as halfway through ‘The Scene Is Dead’ a girl in the front row accepts a call on her mobile. Murray stops mid chord, demands the handset and in no uncertain terms tells the unwelcome caller “Do not call people when they’re at the We Are Scientists show”. Phone retained, the song picks up where it left off, much to the amusement of the crowd and the humorous discomfort of the phones owner. There’s a fantastic vast acoustic depth and a controlled and focused vocal throughout tonight’s performance and ‘Cash Cow’, ‘Textbook’ and new song ‘Impatience’ go down with more ease and skill than most of the regular ‘performers’ who frequent the area. ‘It’s A Hit’ is predictably just that as is the slightly bigger and fuller new single ‘After Hours’. The band end with the best performance of the night ‘The Great Escape’, their self confessed ‘Free Bird’ in response to continual heckled requests throughout the show, before sincerely and humbly thanking the crowd and quietly leaving.

There’s no encore, there’s no need, it’s been such a strong, captivating and hugely unique evening that there’s little more they can do to attain perfection. Besides, they don’t have time as the Soho Revue Bar is hosting another event tonight, the third annual search for Miss Trannyshack UK 2008…

CLICK HERE to see a full gallery of the show.