I have seen the future - and it's shiny and Danish! Last night we braved the weather to go to Shepherds Bush Empire and see Alphabeat.

Now you know how sometimes an album just hits you at the right time? This year that album for me has been THIS IS ALPHABEAT. After a quick glimpse of the "Boyfriend" video I pelted out and bought the album and it has been seeing me through some dodgy old times this year... many an unhappy hour in the Borehamwood job was made bearable by the powerpop of Alphabeat.

So I quickly booked tickets when their tour was announced and then the gnawing doubt started... what if all the things I love about them was just studio invention? What if they were in fact an acoustic folk band??

I nervously took my seat with Owen - who went despite being appalled at them doing a whistling poptastic cover of PUBLIC IMAGE. After the bizarre Pandering & The Goldiggers - a sort of 2008 Boney M with two girls and a camp bloke with a tiny voice - and the upbeat Das Pop from Belgium, 3 skinny lads and a Giant Haystacks lookalike it was time to meet the Beat. THEY WERE FANTASTIC!!! The usual knob-offs of people coming in and out of the row and friends of Das Pop yakking away behind us could not stop an insane grin making me look like I had a fliptop head and wearing my hands out clapping along. They were everything a pop act should be - bouncing all over the place, happy at all times - even during the ballads, an excellent light show which drenched the stage in colour... and of course, loudly thumping their great songs at us. The songs had a bigger monolithic sound to them - like having giant pop juggernauts coming at you every four minutes! They played all but two tracks off the album - Owen was happy that PUBLIC IMAGE was left out - and they also filled out with some new songs which seem to be carrying the sound forward into a slightly edgier territory.
Owen asked who was my favorite before it started - like all great pop acts you should feel they are all dolls you can play with - and I said Stine the girl singer but now I have to say it's Anders SG - he never stopped moving and had a great voice. However I would happily have the whole set of 6 if possible - (see picture above) Anders B the guitarist, Troels the thumpy drummer, Rasmus the keyboard player (with growable hair), Anders SG, Anders R the bassist and Stine. I would keep them in the original boxes and *everything*.Favorite tracks? Oh I don't know.... all of them. However I know I was in Pop Heaven during "Boyfriend" (eeeeeeek), "10,000 Nights", "Fantastic Six", "Touching Me Touching You", "Go-Go", "What Is Happening" and of course "Fascination" which they did as an encore with all Shepherds Bush singing, clapping, screaming - and that was before they let off the huge glitter confetti canons which totally obliterated the stage!
Oh and here is the photo of us all that Stine took halfway through the evening - sadly we were in the back-row of the dress circle! I am now quietly kicking myself I didn't book to see them tonight as well.

I loved it all!!