Strange times indeed for Hefner. Having been perennial indie also-rans for much of their career, each new single now edges closer to knocking on the Top 40 door and they find themselves at the end of their biggest headlining tour to date.
However, for those who were worried that the band might be losing their cult status, the Empire is reassuringly only just two-thirds full. And the surroundings initially hamper the band, with nervy grins all round and a seemingly genuine sense of "What the hell are we doing here?" punctuating the first few songs.
But once they hit their stride, with vocalist Darren Hayman belting out his tales of off-kilter love affairs and broken hearts in the capital's bedsits, all is well again. Surprisingly, tracks from current platter 'Dead Media' are conspicuous by their absence, although perhaps wisely given the battery of keyboards the album employs and not to mention the critical pasting it's received.
Instead, saccharine-laced classics like 'Pull Yourself Together', 'The Hymn For The Cigarettes' and 'The Sweetness Lies Within' are devoured by the bobbing masses down the front. They even debut a new song, which implores Peter Gabriel to spend more time with his life and less saving the rainforests which segues into the chorus of The J. Geils Band's cock rock classic 'Centrefold'. Not your average indie band then.
Hayman takes several opportunities to thank the crowd for their attendance and bemoaning his miserable disposition, "I'm always moaning about the record company or something". This seemingly throwaway comment takes on a new significance, though, when prior to last song of the night 'The Day That Thatcher Dies' he tells the audience to "enjoy it, because you never know when you'll get the chance again".
So is this the end for the mighty Hefner? Are they seemingly resigned to not escaping the indie ghetto? If they are to split, the saddest feeling of all will be that there was a killer pop song lurking in them, their own 'Brimful Of Asha' if you like, that could have ensured they were not just a mere footnote in British music history. On the strength of this showing, they
deserve more than that already.
