Hefner and Whistler @ the Zodiac, 25th November, 2000

The Hefner tour has been a slight disappointment before tonight. There were stories that the venues on this tour have not been packed, and that the London date, on the previous Thursday had been very poor.

It was typical that Oxford would get one of the lesser known support act, Whistler, instead of Spearmint or adopted locals Murry the Hump. Folky indie might be the new thing to be into, but unfortunately Whistler didn�t carry it off as well as some other bands, like Gorkys. Sure, they had the viola and the mouth organ etc, but somehow they just couldn�t stir up the excitement. This might have been that the lead singer, Kerry Shaw, was trying too hard to do the �still and silent, but cool� look in between songs. This diminished her stage presence, and it felt as if the band would rather be hiding than playing on stage.

The opposite is true of Hefner. Darren is confident enough to retort back to the audience�s heckle and even make jokes about the regular coach service between Oxford and London. The band were on top form, they were happy, so the audience were happy, so they were happy. It was a party for all that is indie, and it certainly helped that they did not play a single new song, now that the album has been released for about a month.

Hefner are a celebration of being the underdog, the way some people are never loved in the way they want. Most of their songs are about unrequited love, and each member of the audience knew exactly how it felt, when Darren was singing the songs. It was a joy to see a band enjoying themselves so much on stage, how they were laughing at the audience singing to the guitar parts to their songs.

By loving Hefner, it gives us a problem. We love them because they weren�t loved, so what will they sing about now? And will we still love them?