Too cool for... applause!

Last night saw the launch party for Vice magazine's 'Sundae' issue at the Old Blue Last in Shoreditch. It was quite a trendy affair, with most of the attendees sporting vintage clothes, non-prescription thick-rimmed glassses, and asymmetrical haircuts.

Smiling and dancing were not on the agenda, and neither it seems was appreciation of the band on-stage. I had always assumed that a bit of clapping at the end of a song was par for the course (unless the band are really terrible - and even then a bit of an ironic cheer for the effort is usually in order.) But on this occasion the band in question - Three Vicars; a sort of mix of Busted and The Libertines - got nothing for their all their exuberrant endevour.

Perhaps the crowd were a little weary of showing approval in front of their fashionable peers at such an event, not wanted to be seen to endorse something that was not especially new or cool. It was a bit of a shame to see a fairly decent band toil away with no encouragement but it may be these inhospitable audiences that help build the character of a band. Nevertheless, me and my friends enjoyed ourselves and I expect that despite the awful name, the band will go on to big things as long as they steer clear of these type of events - although I got the feeling that they realised this towards the end of their set as their lead singer belted out a number called 'I don't wanna be like you' with a bit of a wry smile. Good luck to them.

Ed