The last time that Feeder were at this stage of an album campaign they were embarking on a string of tiny, secretive gigs under the alias ‘Renegades’, which later became the name of their seventh studio album. Fast forward two years and the gigs are still small, these shows are just a taster tour to show off the new material, but this time it feels very much like Feeder again. With their superb new single ‘Borders’ leading people to claim that the band are back to their strident best, the anticipation ahead of their show at Camden’s Koko was great and there was an audible buzz before Grant took to the stage.
Armed with just a single guitar he went in to an acoustic version of ‘Children of the Sun’, the first taster of material from Generation Freakshow, until he fumbled a note and declared that he had to start over again, drawing cheers from the crowd. The rest of the band joined him on stage at the conclusion of the song and they launched straight in to album opener ‘Oh My’, which showcased the band’s more anthemic sound. After that it was a non stop ride through a select mix of older songs and the new material but Grant was quick to point out that tonight was more about trying out the new songs. When the opening notes of ‘Buck Rogers’ rang out towards the end of the night Grant stopped, saying ‘we’re not playing that one tonight, tonight’s all about the new music’, prompting a chorus of boos. However, the cheeky grin remained on his face throughout and ‘Buck Rogers’ was played, complete with a quip about the recent Lucozade advert.
Usually when a band try out new material the crowd don’t get too involved, unsure of when they should be swaying, bouncing, moshing etc, and that was the case during the opening number. However, during the six other new tracks, including ‘Tiny Minds’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘Hey Johnny’, ‘Generation Freakshow’ and ‘Idaho’, the last one in particular going down a storm, the crowd were as active as I’ve ever seen an audience during unknown songs. Testament indeed to the quality of the new album. There were also welcome returns to the set for ‘Renegades’ and ‘This Town’, that many people had assumed wouldn’t be making an appearance after the lukewarm public reaction to the Renegades album.
As usual though the biggest cheers were reserved for the older tracks like ‘Feeling a Moment’, ‘Just The Way I’m Feeling’, ‘Insomnia’ and ‘High’. By the time the teasing ‘doo doo doo doo’s’ sparked the introduction of set closer, ‘Just A Day, the crowd were ready to lift the roof off and they did just that before the band left the stage to a standing ovation. The band are likely to hit the road again later in the year for a full UK tour but until then these gigs will go a long way to whetting our appetite for Generation Freakshow.
