Electrowerkz is sold out tonight and there is anticipation in the air as the dark, dingy room fills up during the half hour before VUVUVULTURES begin their set. Having more or less completely done away with laptops and backing tracks, Vuvuvultures seem liberated from these musical constraints and hit the stage with vigour.
It is interesting that this band should be supporting TRUST, given that they have very few electronic elements in amongst their dark and bass heavy brand of alternative rock. The crowd reacts somewhat tepidly, which is a shame because Vuvuvultures are on top form tonight, with vocalist Harmony throwing shapes and dancing like a woman possessed, and the music itself the perfect audio accompaniment to the grimy and gritty surroundings of the venue. It is fair to say that, by the end, Vuvuvultures win over a large chunk of the electro-pop crowd, and rightly so given the standard they have performed to.
Excitement is at critical levels by the time Trust walk onstage to a bass drone, shrouded in smoke and dimly lit by an LED light display. The whole room seems to move with the music, with its deafening, thunderous drums that rattle the rib cages of the first few rows. As someone unacquainted with darkwave music, Trust come across to me as an industrial Pet Shop Boys for the 21st century (which I mean as a compliment), with bubbling synths, huge waves of melodic sound over a menacing rhythm section. Robert Alfons has an inhuman amount of energy, flailing about the stage, relentlessly dancing – and that’s without mentioning the vocal acrobatics, as he slips between a deep, foreboding voice and a delicate, pained falsetto.
After a while, Trust sound a bit samey, the intoxicating nature of the music making all the tracks bleed into one, but the crowd aren’t fazed, dancing and jumping, egged on by Robert’s energetic stage presence. Their set is relatively short and, by the time they finish, the sense of exhaustion in the room is palpable. Having sold out the gig and packed out the venue from front to back, and then worn out the entire room, Trust would be right to walk away from this one feeling pretty satisfied!