Review: Itchy Feet

As a self-confessed borderline hipster, I love anything a bit out of the ordinary; so when Itchy Feet announced the return of its night of vintage swing, soul and rock n roll, there was no doubt that I would be shaking my tail feather right on down.

After hosting a good few successful nights in St Andrews, Itchy Feet decided to up the ante with the hugely popular addition of a fabulous live band, The Shiverin’ Sheiks. The crowd went wild for their unique mix of 50s pop, country with the occasional Jungle Book classic thrown in for good measure. As the night went on the stage was taken over by an equally impressive DJ, who soon had everyone twisting and shouting to the likes of The Beatles, Aretha Franklin and Chuck Berry.

Taking inspiration from the videos of 50s dance halls projected onto huge screens, the dancing was (mostly) a world away from the wall-to-wall bumping and grinding we usually suffer in the Union. With plenty of spinning, hip-twisting, jazz hands and the occasional drunken attempt at flipping your partner over your shoulder (note: you will fail), Venue 1 was transformed into a rockabilly haven as the music swung effortlessly from one classic to the next.

The vintage feel was also present in some of the fantastic outfits worn by revellers, featuring A-line skirts, pearls and headscarves on the ladies and bow-ties, brogues and dapper braces on the gentlemen.

As much as we all love throwing some sweaty shapes to Avicii, in a small town like St Andrews variety seems to be the key to a great night out, and this was something Itchy Feet managed to pull off in style. The combination of infectious classics and the potential for dad-dancing even made the bar queues bearable, as people dragged their partners back onto the floor to “do the mess around” (even when they perhaps would have preferred to do a Messy Bomb – sorry had to be done). The odd song recognised from a TV advert or their dad’s record collection but for the rest of us it was the welcome break from the norm. Of course, us wannabe hipsters can rest assured that as long as we can say we’ve been to one “alternative” club night this semester, and give in to our Pitbull-shaped guilty pleasure.

Thanks for a fabulous night Itchy Feet, see you again soon!