Playhouse Edinburgh UK
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Evening and welcome to the League of Gentlemen. We are in fact a dance band. My amplifier may or may not work but, after all, that's rock n' roll. Thank you, John, a count of four please at a tempo of your choice". With that pert little announcement done the band are off on a gloriously raggedy rendition of Inductive Resonance that often feels as though the guitarist and organist are pushing each other ever closer to the edge of a precipice. If The League of Gentlemen are about anything, it's about the tension between contrasting time signatures and, to borrow a phrase from Gavin Harrison, rhythmic illusions. This is embodied in numbers like Trap wherein bass, organ and guitar push and pull against Johnny Toobad's doggedly central pulse. It's also interesting to note that the Edinburgh crowd whilst appreciative of the thrills and spills of the main set also find time to loose themselves in the reflective space of the strange little ballad. You can almost hear a pin drop at its conclusion.
