Live: The Good Natured

27th February 2013

Night & Day Café

It’s often the case with emerging talent that they find themselves performing at the more rustic venues before making the transition to the neon and concrete arenas. Tonight was such an occasion for The Good Natured as they delivered a humble set at Manchester’s Night and Day Café.

Amidst the mish-mash of heavy wooden bar furniture, walls peeling of its red paint, The Good Natured unceremoniously took to a stage loosely draped in fairy-lights. The trio, fronted by Sarah McIntosh, stood awkwardly on stage, Sarah herself dressed scantily in a leopard print blouse and dazzling rouge spandex hot-pants, whereas her much more subdued accomplices sported asymmetric fringes and looked decidedly 1980s revival in their suits.

Despite the ‘dark electronic pop’ band’s modest entrance, it wasn’t long until the assembled crowd were mesmerised by the vigour of Sarah’s stage presence, one that brimmed with the exuberance that all good front men and women seem to possess. Normally such low-key performances from the band’s bassist and drummer would be observed critically, but in this instance it was understandable, as Sarah stole the stage for her own.

From the outset, the audience was captivated by Sarah’s spritely gyration and eccentric demeanour as she took to lying spread-eagle on the floor whilst maintaining unbroken singing. But even that could no longer be contained to the stage, as in an act of unity she climbed down and submersed herself among the admiring fans.  On her return to the stage for ‘Lovers’, she playfully wrapped herself up in the cord of her mic. For the following track, ‘Your Body Is a Machine’, she showed us a glimpse of her multi-instrumental flair as she took control of the drums. As the set drew to a close, the responsibility for appeasing the crowd’s appetite was left to the fan favourite ‘Skeleton’, closing out a confident, understated performance.