Do Me Bad Things are enjoying this. Midway through their set they play Stop Kissing Me, a scowling cacophony of noise that entices the audience to dance along on the well trodden grass. Equal parts pop and rock, sung as a bitter duet between a snarling male vocalist and a soulful songstress - this is the sound of DMBT's in their element - and it rocks!
The band amble onto the stage around lunchtime looking every bit like the youthful, eager, if a little nervous, Reading festival debutants that they are, and launch into forthcoming single Time for Deliverance. All trepidation dissipates as the audiences collective ears prickle to the infectious pop melodies crooned by the effete yet energetic Nicolai Prowse. Soothing them in the slower passages, he builds to the wailing crescendo of the chorus - the crowd love it and begin to move to the rhythmic beat of Hurricane Tom's drum sound. Even lead guitarist Rich Man manages to showcase his own talents with a blistering solo that takes nothing away from the melody; simply lights the fuse that fizzes through the remainder of the song and on into the next one before the audience can draw breath.
After a couple of numbers Nicolai disappears and we are introduced to the second lead vocalist of the day (not counting the three backing singers already camped to the right of the stage). The Woods is everything that Nicolai isn't. Dressed all in black, unkempt hair, with the deepest growl imaginable. Altogether, an unholy mixture of Johnny Cash and Baron Greenback, "Let's see some hands in the air" he orders before unleashing his trademark vocals on the unsuspecting audience; veins popping out of his skin and red faced when he affords himself a howl. Variety it seems, is the key to DMBT's and nine band members surely can't be wrong.
Nicolai is soon re-introduced to the stage dressed in a fedora, with a silk cravat nestled in a tight fitting shirt he oozes a cool yet camp style and he loves it! The band snap into The Song Rides, their first single, and Nicolai goes into camp overdrive - dancing, cajoling the audience into clapping along, a real showman with, perhaps, theatrical aspirations in this, his theatre. Then comes a real surprise..
The mysteriously monikered Chantal Delusional takes centre stage and throws the audience completely off kilter with a soulful mid-tempo tune demonstrating a range that Justin Hawkins can only dream of. Unfortunately, comparisons with Skin from the now defunct Skunk Anansie will rage on, but Chantal has a secret weapon - sex. Skin was always too masculine to appeal to the male audience, Chantal should have no such problem.
The band decide the best way to end a show is to give the audience what they want and a rousing finale involving all three singers to a clap along fade out do much to raise the spirits of the audience despite the bleak, grey skies outside. Nicolai out camps even himself in a shimmering silver number, but not even the inevitable w*nker sign from an audience member will put him off his stride today.
They came, they played, they went to Leeds and did it again - Do Me Bad Things are a very good thing. Fun, imaginative, if a little long winded at times. Yet, impossible to dislike due to their infectiousness and belief in having a good time. After all, how many rock orchestras have you seen lately?
