The Red Paintings Review

It was only a coincidence that I told everyone that I spoke to this week that the Indie Rock band The Red Paintings show on Saturday night was one not to miss. In actual fact I just thought they were alright and I figured pumping them up as much as possible would improve my chances of recruiting people to come with me. In the end I could only pull Sam.

The two of us arrived at 8:20 but the doors didn't open until 9 so we got some subway. That part isn't really important other than we saw some members of the support band, Brillig, outside the venue and it was awkward when we then walked away again.

We returned after 9 and settled into a seat at The Jade Monkey which truly did live up to its description of "like listening to a band in your living room". I had a few beers from the fridge and we sat through the drum machine backed Brillig who closed with a Phil Collins cover.

Then there was some radiohead in the background as indie people shuffled around and we stood up to watch the beginning of the theatrics.

The Red Paintings truly impressed me. They were classy and for the most part extremely professional for a band unfortunately playing to only ~150 people. It's only a truly good band that can use gimmicks, in this case hulking robot decorations and sci-fi voice overs combined with Japanese orientated costuming, to enhance rather than support a set.

Having only heard the "Destroy the Robots" EP which helped me categorise TRP as "up and coming quality" I was stirred by the strength of their live performance. The aforementioned gimmicks added frills to a passionate and energetic two hour set that rode on the crowd throughout.

The lead singer, Trash McSweeney, was a beacon of this energy; a stark contrast to the serene facade presented by the other standing instrumentalists (bassist, violinist and cellist). All extremely talented, they delivered their sound cohesively only to alternate to posed statues whilst the song ebbed in a new direction. With the violinist providing backing vocals often embracing some excellent albeit creepily delivered spoken word from the cellist it was a joy to hear three such superb, distinct voices compliment each other so well.

Not to be left unmentioned was the drummer who although appearing to be left in the background provided the rhythm required for the rasping string section and wailing guitar to be so effective.

In two hours this band produced so many good songs that I lost track. Some stand outs were Pickles, Send My Love, Mad World, Destroy the Robots, It Is As It Was and I’ll Sell You Suicide. Definitely a band you cannot afford to miss live. At the end of the show, after I bought an EP, I saw the lead singer as we walked out and I got to say to him "that was a great show". I wasn’t lying.