The Pipettes - Fibbers - 07/05/2010

Back in 2006, The Pipettes captured the hearts of many with their matching polka-dot dresses and retro sixties sensibilities that caused comparisons to single-gender vocal bands such as The Temptations. What set them apart from the growing indie-pop movement were the winks and nods accompanying their knowing lyrics about sex, one night stands, feminism and an old fashioned good time. Now, however, all founding members of the group have left leaving We Are The Pipettes-era member Gwenno Saunders and her sister Ani with the inheritance of what could become an indie-pop legacy.

So when The Pipettes, or more accurately The Sisters Saunders, graced Fibbers on Friday the chance to see a new line-up of the girl band whose music got me through my chemistry A-Level was an incredibly palatable opportunity. Needless to say they were not a disappointment (with the exception of them having run out of EPs to sell before they started performing which was more than hugely annoying).

The problem with shedding members and creating a newer image is that for the majority of bands this has the tendency to go drastically wrong (see my disparaging Sugababes review), but for The Pipettes they have been able to integrate this newly created personality with what we knew about them. Their performances exuded the energy and synchronised dance moves that we all came to love them for (their hands never stopped moving and every time there was an instrumental bit they frolicked on stage) but the sound has altered somewhat with there being a fusion between the debut’s sixties feel and eighties euro-pop in the vein of Alcazar.

Although Fibbers is hardly the most expansive of venues, it was the perfect venue in which to view this reconstituted girl group. With a set list comprising new songs and a smattering of old favourites such as ‘Pull Shapes’ and ‘Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me’, the entire performance remained fun, charming and armed with an irresistible energy so that when commanded the majority of the audience started to do The Twist. The only time where there was a slight trip was in the introduction to the encore when Ani made a comment on their song ‘Judy’ being about a dirty girl from York, a comment, prompting an irate woman to shout ‘Ain’t no woman in York with syphilis love’ (whoops) but aside from that, the new Pipettes remained on message and, most importantly, infectiously fun.

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