Does anyone remember the Ting Tings? Of course you do! The duo that brought us the nationally celebrated track ‘That’s Not My Name’ back in May 2008. But has anyone heard from them since? The albums following their acclaimed debut album never managed to reach the same standard as their first and my –  let’s say, interesting experience – on Friday night illustrates why.

The audience was possibly, of all the gigs I have attended, one of the strangest bunches I’ve come across. The 200 capacity venue, Belgrave Music Hall, was less than half full, and the audience consisted of far more middle aged people than one would presume to be at a Ting Tings gig. I found myself caught between a middle-aged man who was undoubtedly the master of dad dancing and a couple who really didn’t mind publically displaying their affection for one another. All in all, a rather strange mix.

Once the Ting Tings finally took to the stage, I again found myself with mixed feelings. No one can deny that Katie White does not give you a performance, her hair and style verging on a toned down Lady Gaga and her bouncing around the stage making everyone in the room nod their heads to the beat. But this energy was displayed with a petulant punk edge; the singer, rather uncomfortably for the audience, threw her instruments across the stage at multiple points during the night, leaving the poor backstage man frantically catching the expensive instruments that she so carelessly threw to the ground. One would expect this kind of behavior from an acclaimed pop or punk artist, not one who’s playing a half filled venue.

The music only delivered when the duo performed well known tracks such as ‘That’s Not My Name’ and ‘Shut Up and Let Me Go’. The new sound just didn’t have the audience up and dancing like these old time classics did. Why this is, is hard to pinpoint. Perhaps the census is that the new sound just isn’t of the same standard as the old sound. Perhaps the throwing of the drum by White across the stage was just too uncomfortable for the mums and dads of the audience. Or perhaps, as I concluded at the gig, the Ting Tings are just well past their sell by date.

Stasi Roe

photo: mtv.com