This week I've started to commute to work via the Central line. I've been learning how to stand in an extremely confined space, squashed up against an unnecessarily large number of people while the floor beneath my feet vibrates and shakes from one side to the other. All of which turned out to be extremely good practice for the Mylo gig I went to last night. I've been to the Barfly a number of times but never previously to a sold out gig, and the place was absolutely heaving. Having acquired a beer and a few square centimetres of floor space near the front it seemed wise not to risk another drink in case I never made it back from the bar again.
Mylo is the Isle of Skye's top dance act (not saying much I know), featuring 24 year-old Myles MacInnes and his synthy keyboard. Destroy Rock& Roll remains my album of the year to date, and I must say I wondered how he'd ever attempt to match its clear, sharp brilliance live on stage. But match it he did, and the secret was to add a couple of talented pals and a large slab of rocking guitar. Clever lad our Myles, just as at home with strings as with keys and knobs, and each song was elevated into a raw throbbing crowd-pleaser. We were treated to almost every track on the album, reinterpreted with added impurities but stonkingly good all the same.
I've been on a few disappointing dance floors this year, the type where the DJ thinks that all they have to do is segue some anonymous repetitive beats with the occasional wailing female vocal and the assembled mass will rise up as one in euphoric frenzy. No chance. But last night a self-effacing bloke in a sheepskin jacket from a small Scottish island managed to whip the crowd up to a wild climax of which any top DJ would be proud. 'Drop The Pressure' was a particular audience favourite, simple but so effective, and a sure fire top 10 dance anthem smash when it's released as a single next month (if only we lived in a fair and just world, which alas we don't). Last night I experienced dance-guitar crossover magic. I believe in Mylo, even if most of the world has yet to sit up and take notice.
