The night opened with the wonderfully eccentric Enjoyable Listens, a two-piece who immediately won the Leeds crowd over with humour, charm and a deliberate touch of the theatrical. Singer Luke Duffet’s vocals carried clear shades of Japan — that cool, arch tone — while the music channelled the New Romantic / synthpop spirit and pulled it sharply into the present day, accompanied in person only by musical partner Jamie Savage, on bass and in charge of setting off the backing tracks -“Jamie – play the track” causing increspading cheers as set unfolded. Sleek bass pulses, lush keys, and knowing lyrical winks gave every song a sly sparkle. They were funny, engaging, a little odd in the best possible way, and the crowd warmed to them instantly. Catch them if you can — they’re onto something.
I’ll confess: I wasn’t expecting much from Electric Six. That’s on me. In my head they were still the day-glo garage merchants of “Gay Bar” and “Danger! High Voltage,” frozen somewhere in the cultural scrapbook of the early 2000s. But within minutes of them hitting the stage, it was clear how laughably wrong that assumption was.
Electric Six were fantastic — tight, energetic and absolutely committed to delivering a proper rock ’n’ roll spectacle. Frontman Dick Valentine (aka Tyler Spencer) was pure magnetism, stalking the stage with that blend of swagger and deadpan delivery only he can pull off. And the guitars? Outrageous. Johnny Na$hinal and Herb S. Flavourings were utterly brilliant all night, firing off riffs, licks and crunchy rhythm work with precision and glee. Behind them the rest of the band locked in fiercely, proving just how seriously good this group still is beneath the humour and absurdity.
The setlist ranged all over their discography, mixing established favourites with deeper digs. Newer tracks like “The Hotel Mary Chang”, “Randy’s Hot Tonight!” and Window of Time landed with surprising impact, a reminder that the band’s creativity never calcified after their early hits. But when those big songs did arrive, the room went incandescent. “Gay Bar” tore the roof off, and “Danger! High Voltage” turned the O2 into a joyous disco-garage free-for-all, the entire crowd bouncing as one.
By the end of the night, the band felt less like cult survivors and more like a strangely beloved house band returning to their adopted city. As for me? I’ll be back to see them again — and next time, without a shred of hesitation.
