The Cat Empire, The Royal Albert Hall

Back in the UK for the first time since last summer's riotous show at Somerset House, the genre-spanning Australian 8-piece The Cat Empire are set for their debut performance at perhaps the UK's most prestigious live music venue.
Growing out of the vibrant Melbourne jazz club scene, the band came together as a three-piece, and picked up members, influences, styles and fans over the following years, and this appearance caps a pretty remarkable rise for the band, twelve years after the release of their self-titled debut, a sun-soaked and irreverent soundtrack to good times with good friends, backed up by some of the tightest ska--jazz-funk-soul you'll hear – try their lead single from that album, Hello, for an early taste of TCE's style.
Their second LP, Two Shoes, produced what are still some of their best tunes (Sly is a great example), but The Cat Empire will always be a live-show band first and foremost, their success built upon energy, experimentation, and the immense talent of each of their members (not least the outrageously-skilled Harry Angus, who combines the roles of frontman, lead trumpet, vocalist, scat singer and beatboxer with startling ease)
Indeed, when put to tape some of their spirit is muted, their horn lines lose that raw, improvised power, and their earnest, joyous choruses (“music is the language of us all!”) begin to sound a little corny, and it's possible to lose sight of what a joy they are when seen on stage.
The band never fails to pack out smaller venues like the Brixton Academy or the Shepherds Bush Empire on their regular UK tours, playing some of the best live shows in town, but it's hard to tell if we can expect the same fire and passion to come across in such a vast and mostly-seated venue as the Royal Albert Hall. Still, for £28, it's worth taking the chance – it could well be the best show you see all year.