When Martin the drummer asked the crowd if we were up for it on a Monday, we all cheered. And of course we believe they came from Rio de Janeiro just to play for us (rather than Southampton or wherever the tour has been). We all pretended it was a different day, and the night was a big fun party. Yes, we were ready for another smash hit on a Saturday night! The Courettes occupy a space where it’s a Saturday night all the time and where a level of escapism is expected.
Flavia, the other half of the band, dressed fantastically in black and white was described more than once as the ‘Queen of the Fuzz’. No dressing down for her. Martin dons a Ringo Starr style hat – there’s no attempt at hiding the core influences. The guy next to us wore a Cramps t-shirt, and we half expected to find a Shangri-Las top somewhere. The crowd know those influences and appreciate them too.
This isn’t our first time watching the Courettes, they massively impressed us with a late night slot at End of the Road a couple of years ago. This isn’t over complicated, and it works. Drums, guitar (with a fuzzbox) and vocals. No nonsense and done brilliantly. Leave your day-to-day reality outside the venue.
The encore was recent single ‘Keep Dancing’ and the banger ‘Shake’, are both good places to start if you don’t know the band. But there’s plenty of back catalogue to choose from and some belters amongst the older stuff too. This is a band to cherish and behold, and to get back to the UK as soon as possible. Great on both a Saturday night and a Monday night too.
One Big House 