8TH DECEMBER

The wearing of capes suggests the possession of super-powers or at the very least some extraordinary talent on the part of the cape owner. Imagine therefore the disappointment felt by the more discerning music fans in attendance at Kill All Hippies' Christmas bash to discover that not only did headliners Robots In Disguise not have any super-powers but barely enough talent to justify inclusion in a sixth form talent contest. When will people learn that fancy costumes this elaborate are usually employed as a means of distraction from an innate crappiness? Also, any band encouraging whoop-whooping amongst the crowd a la early nineties rave should be met with extreme suspicion.

Obviously the young tykes tearing it up in front could be forgiven for their enthusiasm, being distracted as they were by the flashing lights and glittery costumes. However, the girls in Robots In Disguise are clearly old enough to know better and should have appreciated their musical shortcomings by now. Confiscate their capes and hand them to support slot Mr Hudson and The Library instead, as this is a band with an extraordinary talent to light up a room. Their funked up infusions of hip hop, jazz and pop lent wings to all in the crowd. The hippy killing crew have been uncovering unusual musical gems with great consistency for some time now, and with Mr Hudson and his literary cohorts they gave the crowd at the Islington Academy another diamond in the rough which will receive a great deal of critical polishing over the next twelve months. Kill All Hippies is undoubtedly a venerable evening of rock mayhem, but let the hippies live so that we may remove the batteries from toytown timewasters like Robots In Disguise and their second rate electro racket. KARL O'KEEFFE