06 March 2007 (gig)
12 March 2007
I first heard these guys when they were the supporting act for Dirty Pretty Things, just before Christmas. They are from Sweden, I thought that the only thing to come out of Sweden was Henrik Larsson, ABBA and Volvo, seemingly I was mistaken.
For those of you unfamiliar with Mando Diao, and that will be a lot of you as their fan base is mainly European. They date back to 1995; however the current members of the band have been together since 1999 (when the band renamed themselves Mando Diao). Their take on indie garage rock is very British in essence but clearly has roots in Swedish folk and American punk rock.
After keeping the band waiting (like all good rock bands), their impact was immediate, launching straight into a set containing none less then 8 high tempo songs out of 9.
Note to self: Take glasses off before moshing, schoolboy error!
Their on stage performance was extremely polished (they have been doing this as a band for more then 8 years you know); there was a stage presence between Björn Dixgård and Gustaf Norén the founding fathers of Mando Diao, comparable to an early Liam and Noel.
At one point they dedicated one of their songs to everyone in the crowd who wasn’t from London, 90% of the crowd cheered (an indication of their fanbase).
These guys rocked the place! Their high tempo, polished performance was excellent if not brief. Interestingly they didn’t plug their new album (out in the first week of April) mainly playing a collection of their better known tunes from their first 2 albums.
If these guys really pushed themselves on the British public they could be very successful. Indie Rock is most definitely in at the moment (if not overdone) and their brand of anthemic, enthusiastic indie definietly could find itself a place in the over crowded British market.
An excellent performance that got you jumping around like a lunatic on several Class A drugs, a great live performance by a great band!
