Blackwire

Club NME - The Consortium, Bournemouth - May 2006
Image: © 2006 Kid 73
Written by Kid 73

The three Leeds' lads that make up Blackwire blew into Bournemouth via Brighton whilst on a twenty-two date headline tour. Surprisingly bright and breezy, they chucked a Frisbee around and played with their rider (jewellery, postcards, straw hats, food) whilst awaiting sound check. Onstage at midnight they took their positions at the front, flicked the drums on (they don’t have a live drummer, all the beats come from a large, white cube) and started to freak. It wasn’t until their third song ‘Attack, Attack, Attack!’ that the crowd started to nod heads and bend knees. Obviously spurred on by this, and growing onstage balls, the lead singer knelt down, fiddled about then jumped up with a Bournemouth postcard stuck to his forehead. By the time of their anthemic ‘Hard To Love, Easy To Lay’ the lead singer was rolling around on the floor in front of the stage. Blackwire’s demeanour shows a band that have been on the road a few times before. Watching them just doesn’t set my world alight though. Sure, there is sparking close to kindling but they all just miss. Perhaps sometime soon the spark will hit wood and ignite, but it didn’t tonight.