One Night Only
Live Review: One Night Only
Barfly, ULU, London
Tuesday 20th May 2008
by Elliot Kuruvita
There are perhaps two different arguments about the state of new music today in the UK. The first argument could be that the constant emergence of new guitar bands is starting to get somewhat tedious and tiresome; the second, that British rock music has never really been the same since the Britpop era - a fact that must be realised in order to fully appreciate the talent around today. Tonight's gig at the ULU Barfly goes a long way to supporting both of these arguments.
The Barfly doesn't fill quickly; instead, couples and students (you can tell by the way their hair has remained practically uncut since birth) trickle in slowly, carefully managing to avoid any sense of anticipation that may be growing in the air. The venue, a student union, seems more like a community centre than a reckless, tequila-slamming young Londoners' point of congregation.
In support tonight, The Wallbirds certainly give their utmost in at least trying to entertain the half full and lethargic crowd that has showed up early. Their performance, in respect, is flawless. The feel good, acoustic led indie numbers they plug out are good by any standard, but, you can't help feeling like you've heard it all before.
By the time One Night Only show up on stage to a rousing stanza of Muse's Knights of Cydonia, the Barfly is comfortably full enough to brush aside any feelings that the venue is perhaps better suited to Scout parades than top British headlining acts. The North Yorkshire formed quintet need to do a lot here tonight to make something special happen - though when 800 plus gig-goers raise the roof as soon as they appear, it certainly makes their job a whole lot easier.
Their songs are greeted with an enthusiasm that didn't seem possible earlier on in the evening, with tracks like It's About Time and You And Me seeming like instant classics with everybody singing and bouncing along. Vocalist George Craig 's voice overcomes any PA flaws and is somewhat reminiscent of Keane's Tom Chaplin, though lets just hope it's his voice and not his career that turns out the same.
With their debut album Started a Fire out now on Vertigo, it's an exciting time for One Night Only. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the man behind many of U2's albums, there is a certain feel of the Irish boys throughout their music.
It's Just for Tonight, the number nine UK Chart single, that the crowd's here for though, and when it finally comes as the set closer, the belief that this could be heralded as a new British classic is felt throughout the entire crowd.
One Night Only's performance tonight certainly doesn't have any ground breaking attributes and neither does their music, though what it does have is clarity and vision; a vision of breaking loose from the shackles of the stereotyped British music of today and reaching for something new. But to make a move into the big league requires something a little more than what One Night Only have at the moment, and it's something they're going to have to make happen soon, before their name starts to take on a more literal meaning...
For more details about One Night Only, including any forthcoming UK tour dates, see their page here on Ents24.
