Twice this week have I found myself in the presence of Stuart 'Oxo' Jones and Lego Man. I say presence; when they're both 6 foot stupid, you generally find yourself in their presence wherever you may be. I was sat at the back of a pub as they played last Monday and could still feel the sweat dripping from their necks. Anyway, there's a reason I've decided to include them in Sam on Sounds this week, and thats because of a small sticker on the bass drum that Oxo sodomises with his shoe: 'Acoustic Duo'.
I pulled the dictionary up on my computer, which kindly defined 'acoustic' as: 'relating to sound or the sense of hearing: dogs have a much greater acoustic range than humans'. "Hmm," I thought. "That was my understanding of the word acoustic as well."
So why did I feel that this word didn't fit?
Maybe it was the few pints, or perhaps the heat in the room, but I wouldn't describe them as an acoustic duo. I wouldn't describe them as an acoustic duo any less than I would describe an exploding bomb as an acoustic duo. There have been less energetic tsunami's than Noughts & Crosses, and generally, they tend to be less wet as well. These boys are pure energy. I've never seen anything like it.
Their repertoire is further reaching than a cheeky grope in Koolers, but every single one is played immaculately; a triumph in itself considering the constant, relentless movement. Everything from 60's Rock'n'Roll to last week's chart toppers were being thrown out, often laced into each other with the same craftsmanship and pain-staking care as the stitching in Victoria Beckham's face. It's a joy to behold, and an utter spectacle to watch.
They have the ability to just pull people out of thin air. One minute, they're setting up in a quiet pub corner and two songs later, they've disappeared behind a sea of dancing, jumping bodies. They've either got some fantastic rates with Rent-a-Crowd or, more probably, people just absolutely adore them. There's a chemistry between the boys on stage that would put some happily married couples to shame; Lego leans in, and Oxo plonks his sliding glasses back up his nose like something from a Laurel and Hardy number.
I doubt they even need a PA system - their voices carry themselves like freight trains around the room, and the resulting mayhem is just one big party. In fact, that's what I'm going to Christen them: Noughts & Crosses aren't an 'Acoustic Duo', they are a '24-hour Party with More-Thrusting-and-More-Moisture-than-Hugh-Hefner's-Mattress Duo.' That is the only description I can 'come up' with (sorry) that comes close to describing them with some accuracy.
Go and see them. If you like a party, you'll love these.
What's their sound?
Think of Tom Jones being fired out of a cannon, toward the Playboy Mansion. Then, as Sir Tom wails through the air, he has a sudden urge to bellow out every party tune he can think of from the 1960's onwards. Then, just before he lands, a crowd of Playboy Bunnies emerge underneath him, and he knocks them all over like he was 10 pin bowling. Umm. Yeah, that'll do.
https://www.facebook.com/NoughtsCrossesBand?fref=ts
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