NAMASTE - Live @ The Cartoon 7.12.05

We'll leave the mention of the support act off this reposted version ofthe review, they were not happy about it and we ended up getting a lot of spam from the same IP address as the band's contact email (go figure). So, straight to the main event...

There are signs of life on the dancefloor before they even take to the stage. And when they hit the stage it’s with so much more power than their studio stuff, which is something to behold. Harmonic but hard melodies from Mike’s guitar and Dan’s bass, with vocalist Sam showing maturity beyond his years in the way he holds the crowd’s attention, animated and with a captivating voice with a fantastic range.

Even the ‘Toon’s basic lighting seems to go up a notch with Namaste on stage, and the bright lights combined with the smoke is a mini-version of the Sisters of Mercy’s staging. The Sisters took years to become masters of the lightshow and sheer stage presence, and Namaste are already there.
By the third song Structural Matter, there’s a constant crowd at the stage and Namaste captures the whole Toon. Despite The Cartoon’s infamously unforgiving acoustics, Structural Matter, as with everything else, translates perfectly to the live stage, thunderous drumming from Chris, with Mike and Dan’s guitar work synched in nicely. Sam’s vocal range is showcased well here.

“Catharsis” is incredible live, raw emotion by the truckload, minted harmonics, and feels like we’re in a bigger venue than the Toon. Fuck the X Factor and its pop puppets; THIS is where talent resides in this disenchanted kingdom. These are songs that tell a story, that pull you in from every part and you know you’re being entertained. No pretence here, just pure presence, Namaste dominates this lil arena like seasoned pros. Sam is a legit whirlwind on stage, playing to the crowd who show every respect for the band.

Despite the huge range of influences, Namaste don’t sound like any of them, or try to, they’re comfortable in their own niche, and sound like, well, Namaste. We get a few new songs thrown into the mix here, and a cover of a song I’m sure they said was by Tom Waits (but so amped up as to be Namaste’s, not Waits’), marred slightly by some unexpected feedback in the speakers. At this point, “fuck me!” we said, “there’s some headbanging down the front!” … you don’t normally see The ‘Toon this lively on a weekday. This is the heaviest we’ve seen the band yet tonight, Sam finishing the song almost with a scream.

Last song, nearly everyone’s up at the stage. It’s clear that there’s a loyal fanbase here already for Namaste, with that number guaranteed to expand on the strength of this show and others to come. We get an encore, after a few polite shouts for one and Sam tellin’ us we “have to do better than that!”… So after much yelling and applause, we get what we said last month was our top track on the demo. Dark Lights. The one with the Phantasm theme riff. I can’t put into words here just how damn cool that song was live. Sam’s in control of the hypnotised crowd as he climbs up on top of the monitor speakers, singing to them as they sing back. The 'Toon's Mat says to us "Namaste fucking rocked. They are without doubt the best original band that the Cartoon puts on and not only that but they are the nicest bunch of guys you could want to meet" and after seeing this gig, maybe right.

NoiseMatters rated: (5/5)