Monday 17/11/08 The Flies @ Madam JoJos, London

Located in the heart of Soho and surrounded by the good, bad, ugly, beautiful and damned is Madam JoJo’s and it’s rather fitting that this part of town, regularly frequented by prowlers, predators, stalkers and disoriented tourists, should provide the backdrop for tonight’s rare, one-off live performance by The Flies. But before the main event can make acquaintances with the intimacies of the stage, the spartan crowd are lulled into a false sense of Monday evening security by the stunning deep brushed vocals of Like A Thief (Holly Jazz Lowe), the equally affecting circular acoustics of Zena, emotional journey of a bedraggled looking Caleb and a short showcase of Rebecca Poole.

So far it’s been a pleasant evening of varying degrees but everything is running late and by the time The Flies are introduced, we’re nearly 45 minutes behind schedule.  Currently working on the follow up to last years debut album, tonight is a chance for the band to air some new material and exorcise some demons in the process. As always, seeing The Flies live is as much a treat as a strange experience and one underlined by an unspecified vagueness where the unpredictable is ever present and possible. The trio’s dynamic only allows for the enigmatic Sean Cook to take the stage, while partners in crime Bob Locke and Tim Norfolk (AKA Emmy award winning production team The Insects) watch from the relative safety of the bar, waiting to see how their music will be interpreted by the guest musicians that make up the live band.

They needn’t worry, on duty tonight is Angelo Bruschini (Massive Attack) on guitar, Billy Fuller (Robert Plants Band) on bass, Jon Mattock (former Spiritualized & Lupine Howl) on drums and Andy Jenkson (one half of Alpha) on keyboards. Unassuming rock star pose intact, the dark swirling melodies of ‘Lord Of The Flies’ unfurl before the first new track, ‘Nowhere Now’ is unleashed with surprisingly little grandeur. It might be late but the evening is still young and as Cook breaks out the harmonica ‘We Began’ casts a spell strong enough to fleetingly restore the crowd’s faith in substance misuse. But it is only fleeting and an unannounced lethargy as infectious as ‘Walking On The Sand’ and ‘The Temptress’ is seductive, is slowly taking over. There are plenty of new tracks on offer tonight, but despite the listless ‘In Her Eyes’, intriguing ‘Part Of Me’ and complete audio control of the climatic set closer ‘Winter Is Waiting’ this is a crowd who would rather drink, swap weekend stories and discuss a hollow week ahead than allow musical intoxication to take over. It’s also a crowd who for the most part have arguably wasted an opportunity as they stumble out onto Brewer Street and into nocturnal temptation.