9:38am Monday 30th November 2009
By Mark George
My Life Story at Koko, Camden, last Thursday.
BRITPOP band My Life Story reunited to play their first gig for two years to mark the 15-year anniversary of their debut album Mornington Crescent.
The show at Koko was something of a homecoming for singer/songwriter Jake Shillingford, who used to work at the venue when it was known as the Camden Palace.
The band, complete with string and brass sections, didn't sound like they hadn't played together for a while as they launched into opening track Forever, which had a kind of James Bond theme feel to it.
Following track Girl A Girl B Boy C saw Shillingford, full of energy, climb on the barriers in front of the fans, only to later announce to the crowds as a man in his 40s he probably shouldn't try it again.
My Life Story resisted the usual combination of rock group instruments of just guitar, bass and drums.
The use of the string and brass sections really paid off with three excellent tracks in a row.
There was the driving rock of Motorcade, Penthouse In The Basement - complete with a mid-song costume change for Shillingford which saw him return to the stage in a shiny gold suit - and Angel.
The other two standout tracks from the album, Funny Ha Ha and Sparkle, had the fans singing along, while Triumphant certainly seemed to sum up Shillingford's mood.
After the album's final track, Bullets Fly, the band left the stage but returned with a crowdpleasing encore including The King of Kissingdom, the fast guitar rock of Strumpet and the unashamedly poppy It's A Girl Thing.
After a couple of false starts from the keyboard player, much to the amusement of the crowd and his bandmates, the gig reached a dramatic end with the fast-paced strings of 12 Reasons Why I Love Her.
This was complete with a member of the brass section walking across the stage holding up numbers for the audience to sing along to, almost as if the song was a boxing match.
And with that the Mornington Crescent reunion came to and end.
But as the music still sounds great and the fans flocked to see them, I am sure My Life Story will already be thinking ahead to their next reunion gig.
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