The Go! Team are a guilty pleasure you shouldn't feel too guilty about liking - Oh My Rockness

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The Go! Team are a guilty pleasure you shouldn't feel too guilty about liking

March 16, 2005
There is something truly delightful about a band who's entire sound is centered on giddy nostalgia for 80's pop culture. I'm not talking about retro like The Strokes or The Rapture, but rather retro like the soundtrack to Scarecrow & Mrs. King, Simon and Simon, and of course, The A-Team. Throw in some of the Fraggle Rock funk and the groove blasting from Gargamel's Castle and you have London's The Go! Team.

If you've listened to all the crazy loops and samples on The Go! Team's recent album, Thunder, Lightning, Strike, you would think they were simply an "in-studio" band or, at most, that their gig's consisted of a few guys standing on stage with their laptops. But no, this is a real band that plays real shows. The Go! Team's leader is "Ninja," the funkdified, diminutive singer who has more energy than Raphael and Donatello combined. Her sole goal is to make you happy. While Ninja provides the "Go!" the two guitarists, two drummers and a bass player provide the "Team." If that's not a band, I dont know what is. Often, one of the drummers will leap out front and center to perform killer flute and recorder solos. Nothing stirs up angsty passion from the kids like recorder solos. And who would have thought that synthesized trumpets and harmonicas could actually rock?

The Go! Team play short sets that pack a whole lot of energetic punch. Their mission seems to be to insert as many smiles, handclaps, and call-and-response chants as possible with little to no downtime. This is a young band that gives off an unmistakably innocent charm. They aren't the jaded cynics we are too accustomed to seeing. They're a bubblegum cigarette's breath of fresh air. Going to a Go! Team show just makes you feel good.

The Go! Team play Mercury Lounge on Monday, March 21st, Southpaw on Tuesday, March 22nd, and the Canal room on Wednesday, March 23rd.

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