Kitty, Daisy and Lewis
The packed crowd sways as roadies burrow through bringing more and more instruments onto the stage. A beautiful double bass is brought out, uncased, and precariously channelled through the expectant throng. Surely that must be it? Instruments protrude from the congested stage - drums, harmonicas, ukuleles, banjos, xylophones - yet still they come.
Meanwhile, the soundsystem is playing electro pop to a big, varied, energetic crowd of young and old – there’s hip dancing, pretentious dancing and some quite spectacular Dad dancing going on – everyone is up for it.
Technical glitches – engineers flit between desk and stage with nonchalant expressions shaded by increasingly furrowed brows.
Ils arrivent. Sisters Kitty and Daisy open with the a cappella ‘Walking Blues’ before being joined by brother Lewis and their double bassist mother, Ingrid Weiss, and guitarist father, Graeme Durham.
These siblings have attitude and command the stage - they sing brilliantly, play multiple instruments each and look and sound like glamorous American ‘50s rock’n’rollers. Then they ask the engineers for more sound in the monitors and you laugh as you are reminded that they are actually North Londoners, just out of school, whom you wouldn’t mess with if they were playing music loudly at the back of your bus.
Their set is upbeat, energetic, sometimes frenetic. Beside me, a man, slightly resembling Bubble from Big Brother, wearing a sleeveless jumper and a hat (and trousers, never fear) starts dancing in ever-widening circles, enthusiastically clapping along completely out of time, then progresses to jogging on the spot – by the end he is making a skiing motion with his arms, repeatedly elbowing me in the ribs in his excitement.
Jamaican trumpeter Eddie ‘Tan Tan’ Thornton joins them for ‘Ska Song’ wearing a red Obama cap and a multicoloured diamond patterned v-neck and delivers screaming, brilliant solos. By now people are dancing on the sofas. Everyone goes nuts for ‘Baby, Hold Me Tight’. They’re Kitty, Daisy and Lewis, it’s a full-blown family affair and their fans adore them - especially Bubble and me.
Reviewed by Kate Miguda 08/08/2010
Kitty, Daisy and Lewis
Electric Circus
8 August 2010 (Edge Festival)
