Last night DCist ventured to one of our usual haunts to catch the Staines, England four piece, Hard Fi in their first visit to the city. The band’s been gaining cred in the UK since the release of Stars of CCTV in 2005; cred that includes a Mercury Music Prize. Their smart, catchy Brit pop, flavored with the hardships of growing up in a “cultural wasteland,” has worked its way into heavy iPod rotation on this side of the Atlantic as well. Though the sound was worlds better than the last time I hit the Cat, last night’s show didn’t live up to the expectations this band’s recordings had given me.
Last night, there simply wasn’t enough band there to make these guys shine. While front man Richard John Archer is in it to win it, the instrumentals never kicked up enough to provide that surge of energy you expect in a live show. The rest of the band could take a page out of Archer’s book and pump up the charisma a bit. The only songs that felt full were the ones that included a back track; which lead me to the conclusion that the band needs to travel with a keyboardist. They need it bad. When the only instrumental standout at your show is a melodica, something needs to be adjusted. Their sound was too sparse to carry most of their songs, and ironically, too full to carry their cover of “Seven Nation Army.” As they warmed up to the crowd, and the crowd warmed up to them, the show got some legs to stand on; but all things considered, Hard Fi played an incredibly brief set that left me largely underwhelmed. Call me crazy, but I would have liked to have heard at least 12 songs for my $12 ticket.
The show wasn’t a total wash; the crowd was pretty into it, and it wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t what I expected after almost a year’s worth of hype. Perhaps if they shake off the dust a little throughout this U.S. tour, they’ll have developed some chops for their next visit to the States. I still recommend picking up their album, or the Cash Machine EP; this band’s definitely got something going for it. Unfortunately, their live show last night didn’t.
Photo by flickr user timoni
