Rock and Pop : Review - The Bees at Koko
Published: 23 December 2010
by ALAN LEDWARD
HAVING struggled to win the sort of acclaim they surely deserve, the Bees might as well have a crack at the Christmas market.
The Isle of Wight boys recently released their fourth album, Every Step’s A Yes, and, although they are unlikely to pitch themselves against this year’s X Factor mutants, they comfortably have enough familiar hits in their nest for a feel-good festive gig.
Last Friday, on a night of office party apocalypse on the streets of Camden, the palatial Koko became a grotto haven for fans of their rustic rock psychedelia.
While some of the songs became exhaustive sagas, they used their powerful funk-indie anthems to good effect.
Behind an unconvincing coyness, the Bees are genuinely gifted multi-tasking musicians and rotated instrumental duties throughout the night.
It was when they turned to their classic Free The Bees album that the biggest response came. Wash In The Rain and A Minha Menina are perfect gifts for such occasions and were gratefully unwrapped by the fans.
Tracks such as the more recent Listening Man offered a sobering but soulful puntuation mark before the party rhythm returned.
Chicken Payback, with its poultry-themed novelty value, remains a cleverly quirky track, and provided an apposite Yuletide sign-off.