Chimpomatic

Akron/Family

Cargo, London

Due to limited means of transport and living south of the river, it took me an hour and half to reach Cargo in the east end, arriving just in time to catch Phosphorescent coming to the end of his support set. Phosphorescent - the one man band also known as Matthew Houck - came across as another addition to the pained country/folk singer songwriter. A deep and soothing voice was not enough to leave much of an impression but maybe that was due to my own agitation.

By coincidence this is the second consecutive gig where the band were minus one. Akron/Family have recently lost a member to Buddhism which would come as no surprise if you are familiar with any of their material.

Even before the band graced the stage, I was entertained by their choice of motivational tracks. No whale songs or tribal chants - just a blast of early Prince and the dogfather himself, Snoop Dog. This playful and lighthearted approach was incorporated into the Akron/Family’s set, which made for a very enjoyable Sunday evening.

The confidence and ease of each of the three remaining band members was evident in the banter and the pleasure they seemed to take from the performance. Their appealing lack of self-consciousness was emphasised by the inclusion of what they called their first 'children’s song', and I am still not sure if this was sincere or a joke. Not unlike on record, the songs were variable and inconsistent in pace. A gentle acoustic song was sandwiched between the more energetic numbers and my only criticism was that the uneven pattern of the set did take away some of the initial impact.

They did produced a emphatic finale, finishing with one of the highlights from this years Love Is Simple, Ed The Portal. For the first time I did not cringe at a band’s attempt at crowd participation which was to lead into the last song.

The biggest compliment I can give is that you will not fail walk away with the feeling you have been entertained.