Truth be told- arriving at The Old Blue Last and chance-glancing the band times for the night, I was somewhat thrown when I saw that the evening’s entertainment would culminate in a performance from a band named ‘Radical Lasagne’. It later transpired this was but a delicious pseudonym; following a swift Google search and a dusting off of my indie radar.
Supporting punkers Biff Tannen christened the stage, producing minute long thrashes documenting songs of both innocence and experience such as “working at Tescos on a Sunday”, each tale followed with a prompt “fuck you” for reasons still unknown.
Maybe The Indiependent has become unaccustomed to hard-punk, but it felt as if Biff Tannen were sharing some inside joke with the audience that us fearful back-row pundits had not been informed of (I also feared greatly for the wellbeing of my cream suede boots). This considered, a deliciously punky take on The Streets ‘Fit But You Know it’ swiftly united the crowd in being as tongue-in-cheek as the original, albeit with the flair of a three piece punk-suite.
The sheer fact that approximately 70% of 2013’s Indie bests were present in the crowd around us should have told us that this absurdly pasta named collective would comprise of a fine balance of the Indie giants Peace (Harrison Koisser, Dominic Boyce and Samuel Koisser) cuddled up with Superfood (Dominic Ganderton, Ryan Malcolm).
Radical Lasagne assembled an impeccable run of Indie covers, the good-time tone established with opening Dancing in the Moonlight and ranging from Why Does it Always Rain On Me?, to Nirvana’s Smells like Teen Spirit. Peace front man Harrison carried his signature debonair prowess, donning a novelty lemon themed t-shirt emblazoned with a pun that we couldn’t quite read, along with a wildly inappropriate fur-collared coat given the 31 degree heat we had all endured earlier that day. Ryan Malcolm and Dominic Ganderton also took the vocal baton, the latter smiling naughtily and taking centre stage for a heartfelt version of Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn.
A relatively intimate crowd, The Indiependent brushed shoulders with Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, Swim Deep’s Austin Williams and Cavan McCarthy, who merrily propelled himself in a crowd surf for Lasagne’s penultimate rendition of Park Life before footing the night with Don’t Look Back in Anger in an ocean of swinging pints.
Radical Lasagne served up a cheesy portion of anthems, sweeping us back to easier times in this Indie soiree. A piping hot performance with a subtle sweat and well seasoned with a thin crust, as all good lasagnes should be.