The Bravery hit the headlines in 2005 with their self title debut album, featuring the enormously catchy 'Honest Mistake'. On the back of this single with its curious mix of New Order-esque bouncing synth rhythms and classic rock soaring guitar lines, this angry young band achieved large scale success in the 'popular indie' market in the UK at the same time as the likes of the Kaiser Chiefs and The Killers.
Fast forward to 2011, and the 'average punter' in London's music scene has probably never heard of The Bravery. Why? Well, like many, many of those seemingly non-sensical issues in the music business, it comes down to a dispute with their UK publisher, which owns the rights to the distribution of The Bravery's work in Europe. Since, at the end of the day (and at the start of it, and in the middle of it too for that matter), record companies are businesses, their main concern is money, not music. So a dispute over the former meant that the latter wasn't heard from The Bravery on this side of the Atlantic for the last 6 years. Selfish of those record company folks, right?
Not to worry. The band is back now and, damn it, they're just as angry as they ever were! Perhaps more so, in fact, after the preceding legal wrangles - enough to make any self respecting musician want to smash his guitar through several speaker stacks. I know this because I had the pleasure of catching two of The Bravery's four performances during their month-long residency at the Hoxton Bar and Kitchen in London's East End.
Now, without causing offence to the Hoxton Square folks - it's a fantastic indie venue - the fact that the band would play a residency there indicates just how much they have slipped from public consciousness while they sorted out who actually had the rights to their songs. But that was good news for die-hard and new fans alike, who got the opportunity to brush shoulders with the band over a beer in the front bar before and after shows, and experience the full power of their live sound without intimidating barriers(human and material) keeping them 20 feet away from the action. Good news for the boys from The Bravery as well, I would think, for whom a hassle-free beer in the front bar prior to the show must seem like a distant memory when they play in the US.
I must confess that I find The Bravery's recorded work underwhelming. But this band really comes into its own live in a small venue, with the band within touching distance of the audience and no backstage, meaning the stars of the show must push through the audience to exit stage right. This, by the way, led to one of the most charming moments I've recently experienced at a gig, when singer/songwriter Sam Endicott announced, an hour into the set, "now this is the bit where we pretend to end the show, just so we can let you guys sweat for a while, then walk back on as if it's all a big surprise. So just pretend we've done that, and let's get on with the show". With the tone set, the encore saw a friendly stage invasion with several fans getting up close and personal for a boogie with their favourite band members - the lone, yet deadly looking, security guard kept at bay by understanding gestures from bassist.......
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