Gig Review: Model/Actriz At The ICA
Model/Actriz work a sold-out crowd at the ICA into a frenzied mosh pit better than most bands twice their size as they host night one of two End of the Road warm-up gigs
If you had to guess as to where Cole Haden, the frontman of Model/Actriz was at any given time during a Model/Actriz set and you said on the stage; chances are you’d be wrong. That man isn’t afraid to launch himself into the crowd at any given opportunity, dress up in lavish costumes including mid-set changes, and throw himself into the crowd to get it working and ramp up the sweatbox that comes with a gig at the ICA – only a few yards down the road from Buckingham Palace. Playing the “who’s here for the Model/Actriz gig, who’s here for the King” game beforehand became harder as in this room, Cole is King – and all those who believe worship at the altar of Model/Actriz by throwing themselves into the pit. Two albums deep they have overcome second album syndrome by delivering a knockout of a punch in ‘Pirouette’ and have plenty of material to mine from – pulling from an inventive setlist that spares no punches.
It is a twelve-song setlist with a break in the middle that is taught, sharp and punchy. Cole works the crowd with relative ease, embracing the audience by approaching random people often towards the back of the crowd and locking eyes with them; getting them to dance. It happens once, twice – when Cole commands you to dance; you dance – the electrifying frontman has unrivalled charisma that is almost unparalleled. ‘Donkey Show’ leads in – and ‘New Face’ immediately follows; designed to appeal to the few in the room who haven’t seen a Model/Actriz gig before; most of the crowd are new faces. “Say my name when you see my” the chorus blares, and Cole is asking the crowd – “All of my muscle / and all of my skin / who do I look like / and what do I do with it?” holding up to the beauty standards of today with a call to arms that rejects stereotypical masculinity in favour of something new: “the world is watching, I want to figure out...” Cole calls to the audience and launches a mission statement: “I’m going to be a star, I’m going to be a black hole.”
It’s magnetic, with the appeal of a frontman with the charm of say, Dan Hoff or Dara Kiely, but trapped in the body of an operatic diva – at least according to the swirling, daring lyrics of ‘Diva’, deployed later in the set that address the state of America and encouraging people to embrace their inner prima donnas without losing any of that grit. Cole pulls you in and keeps you under his spell – blending industrial rock, dance punk and pop that can drift from sexy to disturbing at once.
It weaves a whirlwind of theatrical and destructive live performance that drifts from the sense of being at the opera to being in a gritty, poorly lit club venue with relative ease. That’s part of the charm – an orgy of chaos deployed at every turn, leaving the audience at The ICA baked in sweat long after the gig is done. Midway through a crowd surfer rises and Cole declares “now it’s a party” – the audience are braving the pit and those who are not engrossed are missing out. Few are safer; more welcoming – a party indeed.
The theatrical snarls and rhythm runs through Model/Actriz – who are twisting and twirling through both their records by the point they return on stage. ‘Crossing Guard’ and ‘Mosquito’ are belters – ‘Mosquito’ is the last song, there is no encore – “with a body count, higher than a Mosquito,” the shamelessness of the lyrics encourage the party spirit and daring enjoyment of the crowd – it’s the first single that the band put out and a statement of intent as a band – in their lyrics, sex is everywhere – lust as a driving force for their music makes this a display of carnal, provocative hunger – mixed with hilarity and comedy that means you’ll never be truly bored at a Model/Actriz show; and if you are, you’re in the wrong place.
The dance punks have recently been announced to support Miley Cyrus as part of her return to music; in a move that’s sure to shock the hardcore Miley fans - Cole’s antics make for a unique combination of star power and daring dance music. It is here he enlists Sijya, a New Delhi based composer, producer and graphic designer to warm up the crowd, rarely stopping and rarely slowing down. The fresh music has already been championed on platforms like BBC 6 Music, with subversive, darkwave tracks that really shine with their influences, and it’s clear that seeing her live she lives up to the early intriguing, able to stun a crowd into near complete silence, much like RIP Magic at the Jack White show last week. Few words are spoken mid show and it is lively - a real firecracker of a performance, a real continuous burst of outpouring of energy that you can’t help but relate to.