07 June 2007

A live review of The Whip

The Whip - Manchester Roadhouse - 23 May 2007

After what the people who watch films for a living might call a ‘scene-stealing’ performance from support band Daggers, you’d forgive The Whip for being a bit nervous about tonight’s homecoming show at the tiny Roadhouse venue.


Luckily though, for band and audience, the only nerves that come into play this evening are those linking the disco synapse with the robot rave receptors.

Playing the sort of dark, groove-ridden electrorock that always feels slightly illegal, The Whip fill the packed dancefloor with an atmosphere of such intensity it would have musical forbears Daft Punk rushing to cower behind their dressing up box long before you could scream “I WANNA BE TRAAAASH!” The band rattle through their ‘greatest hits’: ‘Muzzle No. 1‘, ‘Trash’, ’Frustration’ - all pumped to the gills with techno anabolics and deployed with devastating effect.

By the end of the set the temperature inside the venue has reached a dangerous level and the band are forced to endure several minutes of whooping and clapping by the audience, as they try and cool the venue down enough for them to play on. Sadly it doesn’t work. The only consolation is that The Whip, along with their brand of robot rave warehouse rock, work better than anyone could possibly have hoped for.

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