- If cousin-lusting Antonio Shelbyville’s going away extravaganza wasn’t enough of a reason to shimmy down to Fabric last Friday, then a live performance by Aussie band Cut Copy was more than enough bait to get the fish biting. Add to that a set by ultra-hot in every way Juliet in the main room and Fabric’s waters were the only ones we wanted to swim in.
Finding Fabric a little less packed than usual at 11.30, we headed into the room usually reserved as the place to get a dose of drum and bass in your motherfucking face. The crazy green lined laser lighting was in full mesmerising effect for those hepped up on goofballs, but it was easy to get a position close to the stage.
The Cut Copy boys warned the punters that they had just come in from Amsterdam and to give them a break thus if they were to be a little slow moving – a cliché to be sure, but given that I still haven’t located my own cerebral matter from a March trip to the land of the white widow, I was prepared to cut them some slack!
Using the blend of rock and synthesised sound that is their patented move, much like Tim Hardaway’s “killer crossover”, Future immediately had the crowd shuffling in the dark much like the expensive fringes of Cut Copy were bouncing in the light. The chest banging bass would have kick-started the heart of a recently passed cardiac victim, and despite their warning, Dan Whitford, Tim Hoey and Mitchell Scott didn’t seem to lack too much energy after hanging out with the Dutch.
Whilst they only played a relatively short set which also included Saturdays and Time Stands Still backed by a video screen declaring “Shoot em all and let God decide,” (like a certain Uncle did one fatal September morn), it was a great start to a full blown Fabric journey, and for the staff of Barcombe publishing, it was just good to glimpse Cut Copy live at all after their set at Glasto went pear-shaped due to some dodgy electrics.
Moving into the main room soon after, I tried unsuccessfully to hide the fact that my tongue reflexively jumped out of my mouth as the figure of Philadelphia’s Juliet writhed on stage as she performed crowd pleaser Avalon. After seeing the track live in a Glasto dance tent in June (with only about fifty other people listening), I can definitely say that the track was more appreciated in clubland. Ride the Pain was also delivered with aplomb.
Clad in a VERY short white skirt and sleeveless TIGHT black top, Juliet played up the antics a treat, and the band accompanied her sultry lyrics admirably. The crowd though, sparse in sections, were fairly subdued. Maybe that had more to do with the fact that the visual senses were being tickled even more than the hearing variety?
In true Fabric style, the rest of the night was spent flittering about in a nicely fuzzy and distorted state hearing tracks that stopped you in your tracks for a dance. Roll on Engagement Party Friday @ Fabric with Kid Kenobi in a couple of days...
CUT COPY 8/10
JULIET 6/10