What’s that coming over the hill? Is it a random gig by some mid-2000s shouty indie boys? Yes it is!

Here is yet another of my early-30s gigs which I went to purely as a social event, not because I had any huge interest in the band in question. In the summer of 2006, the Automatic’s exuberant tune “Monster” was to be heard wherever you went, and I quite enjoyed it. When both my flatmate Rachael and my Glam Best Friend mentioned to me they enjoyed the song too, I came up with the genius plan of the three of us attending this gig together, which they quickly agreed to.

But this night out did not transpire as planned. Not long after I’d bought the tickets, my flatmate pleaded poverty and said she couldn’t go after all, so I recruited one of the lads from my Thursday night pub gang to take her place. Then, on the day of the gig itself, Glam Best Friend came down with a sudden lurgy and was unable to go as well. So, instead of a night out with my glam girly mates, it ended up being just me and Trev from medical records who trekked to Kentish Town this autumn evening in 2006.

We had some beers in a nearby pub then made our way to the venue. As for the gig, itself, I’m afraid I reverted to my one-line review style in my diary entry:

“Anyway, it was fun in a shouty bouncy kinda way.“

And unfortunately, there’s nothing else I can really recall about this gig. I did buy their debut album in preparation for the show, but I don’t recall listening to it much after the gig had been and gone. The band did not go on to much great success and Wikipedia informs me that while they might not have officially split up, the members are now employed variously as a software engineer and an accountant. So, not a tale of any great rock’n’roll glory.

Still, they once headlined the Kentish Town Forum, and were fun in a shouty bouncy kinda way, which is more than most aspiring musicians achieve – myself included. So while my report of this gig may be sparse, I salute The Automatic for accomplishing their 15 minutes in the spotlight, and soundtracking the summer of 2006 with their delightfully bonkers tunage.