For many, The Ting Tings are a bit like Marmite. Some love ‘em and think their songs are amazing. Others wish they’d just go away and burn in music purgatory along with Tokio Hotel, Pussycat Dolls and Paris Hilton. One thing we can’t deny, whatever your opinion of them, is that their album is full to the brim with catchy songs. We put aside our opinions for one night to check them out at Swindon’s Oasis, hoping to see just how good live they are.
Before The Ting Tings took to the stage, we had VV Brown and Ladyhawke. VV was 7th in the BBC’s Sound of 2009 annual poll so we were excited to check her out finally. She’s certainly got the voice to take her far with a great doo-wop 60’s style updated for the 00’s. However, whilst we can accept she’s definitely got talent and could get a crowd going, she’s not amazing enough for us to start raving and ranting about her amazingness here at TGTF.
One of the main reasons for attending tonight’s show was to catch Ladyhawke (pictured left). The 28 year old Kiwi has been on our radar for a while, and live she’s pretty ace. Banter between songs was kept to a minimum, however the music more than made up for it, with Paris is Burning turning into an 8 minute hypnotic full on funk fest. My Delirium seemed to be the only song the crowd knew, loosening up to yell the “Hey” of the chorus truly deafeningly.
Finally, Jules De Martino and Katie White (better known to many simply as The Ting Tings) arrived. The stage was scattered with all sorts of segments of keyboards and drums, and they got down to their business, opening with “We Walk”. With only one album under their belts, it’s hard to pull out of the bag a full set, considering their album only weighs in at 40 minutes. So, when you haven’t got many new songs (these were saved for the encore and were rather “meh” – no catchy choruses to be seen there), and not many B-sides, what to do to fill the time? Do an extended version of each song, that’s what, and pretend that you’re all “arty” with your video projections that are pretty mundane.
However, this shouldn’t detract from the fact that they have produced some of the simplest, best pop tunes of the past few years, with just about everyone knowing the words… even if they don’t want to. Live, they take the songs and spice ‘em up a little with some pretty saxophonists and some nifty camera work and give you the chance to yell “Shut up and Let Me Go” at the top of your lungs witha few thousand other people. “Be The One” still sounds as amazing as it did the first time we heard it, and “That’s Not My Name” provides a show closer that many bands could only dream of.
Whatever your opinion of them, The Ting Tings have some amazingly catchy tunes. Live, they’re alright, however if you weren’t a fan before catching them live isn’t going to change your mind.
The Ting Tings play London’s Brixton Academy tonight, before embarking on a massive USA Tour then a European tour. After the jump are pictures and setlists.
Tickets for this event were kindly provided by Needtickets.
To find tickets, we suggest you try using Needtickets. Needtickets.com offers you the most comprehensive ticket service in the UK. With one click you can search every nationwide online ticket agent and as a result you can find tickets for any live music event that can be booked online. Every ticket is 100% guaranteed as Needtickets.com only offers links to official agents.
Earlier in the week we gave you 
Ah, the music video. It’s a genius thing. Without it, we’d never have had the Thriller dance, Madonna’s pink leotard or Ok Go’s treadmill acrobatics! Shocking, I know!
I’ll be honest, I totally missed this one. 
By Phil Singer on Friday, 6th March 2009 at 12:53 am
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