Published: Thursday, 13th November, 2008 08:00
Officer Class
By Sarah Tull
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Officer Kicks
Not many people would want to warm up for the Hoosiers. Trying to engage a crowd distracted by the anticipation of seeing the adorable pop trio – specifically lead singer Irwin, if the T-shirts all the girls were wearing is anything to go by – is not an the easy task.
However, four-piece rock band, Officer Kicks, proved they were up to the challenge.
After their final set of the tour, Jamie Scallion (vocals), Jamie Fisher (guitar), Keith Wickham (drums) and Mike Skorjanec (bass) were buzzing, and declared Reading “the best show we’ve had”.
Charismatic and slightly hyper lead singer, Jamie S, who was celebrating his 28th birthday that night, said: “We were overwhelmed by the crowd’s response to us, they were so up for it and even sang me happy birthday!”
Guitarist and smooth talker, Jamie F, agrees: “The crowd tonight was immense, we didn’t want to leave.”
Luckily for the band (and us), another trip to the town is already planned, as the boys are set to grace Reading Festival 2009 with their meaty riffs and energetic indie twang.
“It’s a dream come true,” said the band from Cambridge. We’ve played other festivals but never Reading.”
It has not always been plain sailing for Officer Kicks, who have been playing together for nearly 10 years.
After they were dropped from their record label, the band struggled to get the money to make their debut album. The Six Grand Plot, the amount they had to beg, steal and borrow in order to make it, was a labour of love but the boys feel it was worth it.
“We could have been headlining this show, but it would have meant compromising our sound. We are who we are and that’s never going to change,” said bassist Jamie.
This self-confident, defiance comes across in the music, giving them a fresh, youthful edge with a loud rebellious twist.
This sound is personified by frontman singer Jamie, who whipped the 2,000-strong audience into a frenzy, using a combination of friendly banter, enthusiastic dance moves and mischievous, Cheshire Cat grin.
By the end of their in-your-face yet enormously fun set, these officers had made a whole new army of Reading-based fans.
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