With a lyric like that, you'd expect Brummie-based trio, Johnny Foreigner, to be some new spawn of the 'emo' music-genre. Thankfully, they are not. JoFo (as they are commonly referred to), have the capability to match morose, fairly depressing lyrics, to very up-beat, frantic indie music. On record, the band come off as enthusiastic, energetic musicians. The same, however, cannot really be said for their live performance.
Their recent gig in Liverpool's newly-renovated 'The Masque', failed to fully live up to the impression that is given by their only album release, Waited Up Til It Was Light. Alexei Berrow (lead vocals/guitar) at stages was almost failing to actually sing parts of their songs, and instead left it to a 25 to 30 strong crowd to shout out the rest which, rather embarrassingly, went down like a a bad joke in a Dundee men's social.
Their set list comprised of a mixture of old and new material, with the latter sounding much like the former, leaving a rather repetitive feeling from the gig itself. The bands saving grace, however, was the musicianship of drummer Junior Elvis Washington Laidley. Not only is he the proud owner of one of the most rediculously brilliant names in contempory music, but his ability to play drums, synths and keyboard all at the same time meant he was a real joy for the crowd to watch, and showed the passion which, at times, was missing from the other two members of the band.
The band finished the set by explaining that their past three gigs have been marred by technical cock-ups and band arguments, and all of this coupled with a hectic tour schedule could be a possible explanation for the lathargic nature of the band. On record, they are still great, just try and catch them at the start or end of a tour.
http://www.myspace.com/johnnyforeigner
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