Last night I popped along to the ICA in London, one of my favourite venues, to see Everything Everything live in concert. I was rather excited, having got a ticket last minute. I’ve written about them twice before, given that they’re one of the stand-out bands of the year for me.

First on the bill however were Findo Gask.

Findo Gask, live at the ICA in London on November 4th 2009

Described by Everything Everything as “much better than us“, I was completely blown away by these guys. There’s certainly a similarity in the sounds of the two bands, but Findo Gask draw more from bands like Simian, and there’s a whistful melancholy to their sound that really stands out.  Singles Va Va Va and One Eight Zero sounded exceptional live, with lead singer Gerard Black walking through the crowd with a cowbell during the set. A fantastic band that I can’t wait to hear more of.

O Children, live at the ICA in London on November 4th 2009

I hadn’t heard of O Children before this concert, and my first impressions that they sounded a bit like Editors had me roundly admonished on Twitter. That was the first thing I got, though that may have been down to the lead singer’s particularly deep voice. As they played on, I began to get My Bloody Valentine vibes in addition.  A deeply powerful live band, they seemed to grow in confidence as they played on. An odd choice to accompany the other electro-indie bands playing that night, but one I’m glad I had the chance to see live.

“Are you all here to see us?” These were the first words of Everything Everything’s lead singer Jonathan as he surveyed the venue.

Jonathan Everything, live at the ICA in London on November 4th 2009

Such is the rise of the Manchester based band that this was an entirely earnest question to ask. The last time they played London it was to a room of twenty people. This time, they were playing to a packed room, bolstered by several BBC 6 Music sessions over the year and the support of Zane Lowe.

A boisterous forty five minute set followed, with My Keys, Your Boyfriend and encore Photoshop Handsome providing the  biggest singalong moments of the night. It was set closer Weights that provided the most tantalising glimpse into what could be coming next, however. Unlike their more synth led and catchy tunes, this was a track that slowly built up to a heavy crescendo, with Jonathan’s falsetto being used to great effect. New guitarist Alex seems to have bedded in well, the band forming an extremely dynamic unit on stage.

Their debut album is set to be released next year, and on the strength of this performance it could well be one of the albums of the year. Still very much a breakthrough band then, but one that’s done it with a heck of  a lot of style.

Everything Everything, live at the ICA in London on November 4th 2009

More photos from the gig can be found over at my Flickr account.