Cobra Starship at London Shepherd's Bush Empire, 10th February 2010.
On the 10th of February, 2010, I was lucky enough to attend a concert at the historical building of London Shepherd's Bush, where thousands of budding fans queued up to see Cobra Starship on the last date of their UK tour. Supporting bands were an all-female French band called Plastiscines, and Georgian band Family Force 5.
The Plastiscines were first to play, having a thirty minute slot. They filled it with ease, giving a very energetic performance, singer Katty Besnard keen to get the crowd revved up and ready for the following acts. Their last song got the whole crowd involved, chanting with them whilst members of Cobra Starship took it upon themselves to take one drum away at a time until drummer Anoushka Vandevyvere was left with a mere cymbal.
Next was Family Force 5, who I would say was the best band of the night, despite Cobra Starship being the headliners. They also had a thirty minute slot, barely stopping for breath. Each member had a matching outfit, all with a different number on their shirts. Singer Solomon Olds (also known as Soul Glow Activator) break danced through his whole performance, encouraging crowd participation at all times. I'm sure they have gained many new fans after the spectacular show they put on.
Last was Cobra Starship, who did not fail to live up to the expectations after witnessing a phenomenal support band. Victoria Asher had difficulty with her keytar to begin with, but it was quickly resolved and they got back to playing. Gabe Saporta liked to talk between songs, and he liked to talk a lot. The rest of the band noticed this, looking increasingly bored as he continued to talk. Eventually the crowd took it upon themselves to stop it, by chanting "Sing, sing, sing!". After this they played three songs straight before he took it upon himself to start talking again.
Like the support acts, Cobra Starship was very keen for audience participation. Two members of the crowd were ushered to the stage to rap a section of their first single, "Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)." Guitarist Ryland Blackinton helped Gabe with getting the crowd excited, and as soon as they said the word, every member of the crowd had their 'fangs up', this being the hand symbol for Cobra Starship.
Most head lining acts have an encore, and Cobra Starship was no exception. After the cheering from the swarm of fans, they came back out to play three more songs, much to our pleasure. This was my third time of seeing Cobra Starship and as they have become bigger as a group, they’ve become better, and it also apparent they still appreciate the fans, no matter how few or how many they have.
