Fans Of Kate

The poster on the wall says Fans of Kate will be playing for forty-five minutes. The gentleman manning their merchandise stall comments that they'll probably play for an hour. The uber-fan tells us they played for an hour last night in Edinburgh and that it was absolutely incredible and that they played loads of really old material.

Yet it's 10.35 before the fuzzy intro music starts up, and a mere thirty-five minutes later the house lights come back up, but as the old saying goes - it's quality, not quantity that matters, even if last night's crowd got both. Hmph.

Seeming to pride themselves on being the polar opposite of bland, FOK's synthesisers and frenzied noise-making moments make the band seem like they belong in some indefinable genre with The Cooper Temple Clause and Hope of the States. At other times they sound like they've stepped straight out of nineties indie and would sound perfectly at home on a Shine compilation, probably sandwiched between Shed Seven and the Super Furry Animals in the first half of Disc 2.

The band may not deliver a massive slice this evening, but what we do get is a stunning set that poises us gaggingly to return home and listen to the scores newly-purchased EPs. Highlight of the set is 'A Pattern', flipping back and forth between elegant keys and angelic vocals in the verses and a furious riot of a chorus.

Listening to Fans of Kate on CD though is like watching Damon Hill when he moved to Arrows F1. Whilst a live set is like being teased with a tiny glimpse of how great they can be, when it comes to the race to sell records, they're driving a dodgem down a river. The magic of Fans of Kate is all too easily forgotten with only these recordings as a brief reminder of the live experience.

With shows so delightfully captivating, foot-tapping and jaw-dropping, someone's sure to offer the lads a proper deal sooner or later. Until then, does anyone know of any decent bootlegs doing the rounds?