Operator Please

Flamingo Crash

Little Red

Mention the name Operator Please and you may get a few confused looks. Tell people you are seeing the band of teenagers who sing about ping pong and suddenly everyone knows who you are talking about. With my friend’s reactions ranging from excitement to annoyance when I mentioned the band I was reviewing I was interested to see just how good these kids are live and quietly hoping I could silence the critics.

The first support act was Flamingo Crash, an eclectic, four piece, pop rock band who produce music with a beat that vibrates all the way through your body till your feet start to move without conscious thought. They have managed to sink their teeth into a sector of the music genre pie that very few emerging bands have been brave enough to explore. Quirky is hard to do but yet Flamingo Crash do it with such flare and originality and the few patrons that did turn up for the opening act certainly seemed to enjoy it.

Next up was pop rockers Little Red who appear to have stepped straight out of the 50’s with their amazing harmonies and backing vocals. Even for a music reviewer who has seen it all before these guys were a breath of fresh air. The constant change in vocalists gave each song its own distinct sound and the guys even had a few girls swooning. So 50’s.

I have always believed that you never really know the musical talent of a band until you have seen them perform live and this certainly rings true for Operator Please. Ok, I know that you are thinking, if I hear that ping pong song one more time I’m going to poke myself in the eye with a pen but this may have more to do with the fact that it received a little too much radio play than any fault with the song itself. When you hear that drum beat live it’s very hard to suppress the urge to jump around like a maniac with your arms and legs flailing around in some warped version of what normal people call “dancing”. By the looks of the small, but excited, crowd at UniBar I don’t think many people would disagree with me. Especially those who found half a ping pong table in a dark corner of the UniBar and pushed it out onto the dancefloor, much to the amusement of the band. Along with “Just a Song About Ping Pong” the set list also included the singles “Get What You Want” and “Leave it Alone” as well as the beautifully melancholy “Pantomime” and a cover of Devo’s hit “Whip It” which even included choreographed hand movements. Unfortunately there just weren’t enough bodies present and this may have contributed to the fact that there was no encore, something that is almost unheard of on the current live music scene.

So, what was the final verdict? Let’s just say these guys make missing one Wednesday night out so worth it.