When the Ting Tings first rolled around with their fun pop rock sounds, we were in love. The beats were huge and the singing made us want to get involved. Then we saw them live. Unimpressive was the word. Tonight, as they perform at a somewhat too big for them Somerset House they show signs of improvement but ultimately leave us feeling deeply unsatisfied.
Taking to the stage in a green & silver glittery catsuit (which she later refers to as her power ranger outfit), Katie White is quick to jump about the stage to the bop along vocals of 'We Walk', while Jules, in his typical sunglasses, bangs away through their memorable basslines. 'Great DJ' would normally cause an explosion of dancing, but being in Somerset House, the middle class 30 something attending merely bop away gently. It almost feels like we might be watching Chris Martin perform a solo set in Kew Gardens at times. Noticably irked by the crowd's tame reaction, Jules is keen to shout at the crowd to 'make some f*cking noise'. There might be a gentle coo at this point, but this is not a crowd likely to cause a riot.
After the gorgeous 'Be The One', it takes a double bill of the shockingly whiny 'Traffic Light' and the, on record brilliant, 'Shut Up & Let Me Go', to make us realise that actually The Ting Tings live haven't improved really that much. Whether it's the case of a lot of filler tracks between some killer singles, or the abilty live to absolutely zap the energy out of such a raucous tune as 'Shut Up...', we're not sure. It's telling that only a pre-encore megamix of tracks such as 'Ghostbusters' and 'Walk This Way' coupled with a man breakdancing in the crowd really lift us during the gig. Well that and a minor stalk of, our 90s crush, Andrew Lincoln round the venue. He left about 30 minutes in. The man, he has good taste.
