Dresden Dolls @ Spiegel Tent

Although they ought to be the perfect fusion of punk and cabaret, The Dresden Dolls don't quite manage to reach the levels of exhilaration that their talent proposes this evening. Supported by burlesque dancers from Club Noir and The Black Sea Gentlemen's Mikelangelo performing an acappella cover of Diamanda Galas, the beerhall stage is perfectly primed for colourfully theatrical punk metal played on drums and piano. But it rapidly goes downhill as it transpires that the Dolls are just an emo band with an unusual line-up. When they cover Mein Herr they turn it into just another "girls pretending they don't have to put up with guy's shit" sing-a-long rather than the twisted cabaret it could be. They seem unsure of how to work the crowd, making them sit down, then asking them to stand up for a Kaiser Chiefs cover, then sit down again. But when the elements came together, as on the awkward clockwork of Coin-Operated Boy and the fantastic final face-off, it becomes clear that the only area this pair are not talented in is song writing. [Ali Maloney]