Dublin Castle, Camden, July 5th 2002.
My Life Story used to be one of my favourite bands, one of the few that I truly fell in love with. Consisting of twelve members, and fronted by the always-consummate showman Jake Shillingford, they were full of glamour, joy and passion, and, as so many critics commented upon, they deserved fame so much more than pretty much any other band that failed to make it during the Britpop era. And more than most of those that did for that matter.
From string drenched ballads, the most uplifting pop songs and heartbreakingly romantic tunes, they were the kind of band that as soon as you finished listening to their album(s), you'd hit play straight away, and listen to it all over again. And live. Live they were sensational. With Jake always pulling out all the stops and giving his all. And then some. They had glimpses of success - after much positive coverage in the music papers, they were
So when Jake announced he'd created a new band, we were full of anticipation. And reservations. Could they possibly live up to our admittedly all too high expectations? Or would they just be an echo of the frontman's former act? Taking full advantage of the net, Jake asked investors to contribute to the making of their first album, and two downloadable mp3's were made available on their official site (www.exileinside.co.uk) that suggested that we wouldn't be disappointed, but via my cheap
tinny pc speakers they didn't seem as full or as complete as Jake's work with MLS was. So when live dates were announced, we knew we just had to be there to find out if Exile Inside were worthy of our love as MLS had once been.
This was one of their first live dates, as they'd previously only played at the Monarch on Monday, and once for investors back in May, and we were more than a little nervous. But we needn't have been. Stunning's the word people. Darker than much of MLS's material, but equally as evocative and touching, they feel like a much more honest band, more personal, more real. Playing first, simply put, they were sublime. Sounding so complete, and so strong, which is especially surprising considering the smallness of the venue, they put in a show worthy of a Stadium appearance. Whilst at times it looked like Jake felt a little constrained by the Dublin Castle's small stage - he twirled the mic stand around a few times but didn't have the space to really let go- it didn't affect his performance in the slightest. But it's the songs that are obviously the important thing, and they didn't let us down.
Alas, due to being on first, we only got to hear seven - The Will To Live, She Came To Stay, I Hear Echoes, Taylorville, Katrin, Exile Inside, Anaesthesia, all of which could be released as a single. More electronic this time around, with no strings attached, it feels like a step forward from the MLS days, rather than the much feared step back we thought they might be. Lyrically the songs were much more straightforward too. MLS occasionally suffered from gimmicky lyrics (infamously they were the first (and possibly only) band ever to make references to Tamagotchi's in one of their songs), but Exile Inside's tunes are more about love, romance, insecurity and the complexities in life in general.
After the seven all too brief songs, they left the stage, to a crowd baying for more. And for the first time at any gig I've ever been at, despite being the support act they came back for one final song, the piano based Antiques, which sent a shiver not just down my spine but all over my body, and goosebumps were more than apparent. Beautiful, elegant and far more subtle than MLS ever were, it's a song which deserves to be the background sound to many a romantic tryst.
Bent Jensen followed them, with a frontman who looks like Kiefer Sutherland if he had spent 24 hours eating pies rather than saving the Senator Palmer's life, and did the whole summery Californian guitar rock thang with aplomb, and were rather fine, but just one of hundreds of all too similar bands, and instantly forgettable. But they did serve to show how special Exile Inside are. How different from the all too mundane norm.
Like MLS, I can't see Exile Inside ever achieving Glastonbury headlining levels of fame, despite the fact that they so deserve too. But in a world where Rod Stuart and Stereophonics just have, I guess that doesn't really mean much any more. More importantly, they warrant your love, money and attention and you'd be foolish to miss out on the Exile Inside experience.
Alex Finch.
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