London band TEETH take to the stage at approx. 12.20am in Dalston. Power Lunches is a small cafe/bar with a basement. Despite how dark and small this venue is, many people are packed in tonight and waiting patiently to see the band, who, from the buzz I have heard, promise to be fantastic live.
Before the set starts, a huge helping of smoke comes from a smoke machine, leaving it absolutely impossible to see what is on the stage, let alone where your feet are. While normally (especially as a photographer) I would have found this annoying and unnecessary, I see singer Veronica laughing at the mistake and encouraging the crowd to wave their hands to help disperse the smoke. The three-piece band themselves look absolutely honoured to be playing this show, Veronica holding a camera and filming the crowd as they burst through their first song. If I had to describe this music, I think I could do no better than to say it’s music to have a good time to – and the crowd certainly are.
Teeth are building a reputation for their live sets, and I can see why. Despite the stage barely fitting the three of them, they are making full use of it. It feels more like a house party than a gig at a venue – it’s so small and the surroundings look (forgive me, Power Lunches!) poorly put together. However, the sound is great and you don’t have to put on any air of social expectations here – I’m just at home with friends at an amazing party.
It would be sad for this atmosphere to be compromised by a bigger venue, but that’s not to say I don’t think they could pull it off somewhere else. In fact, more people need to see Teeth live – they’re so much fun!