July 29, 2008

Ting Tings Bring The Thunder To Brooklyn Concert -- Literally

By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes (MTV.com)

"It looks like there might be thunder," Ting Tings frontwoman Katie White said, standing at the edge of McCarren Park Pool. "It would be good - kind of dramatic if there's lightning. And it might fill the pool up!"

There was no full pool - but there was plenty of thunder, lightning and rain throughout the afternoon. Regardless, Sunday's free concert was packed to capacity - the line to get in stretched around the block and hundreds were turned away from the venue, even after waiting for as long as three hours in the rain. But that didn't stop the Ting Tings from playing punchy, poppy hits from their debut LP, We Started Nothing, like "Shut Up and Let Me Go," "Great DJ" and "That's Not My Name" for lyric-chanting fans.

A storybook success story, the British duo give the Internet and TV a lot of credit for their #1 album in the UK and growing fanbase in the US.

"With stuff like MySpace your music travels so quickly," White said. "If somebody likes it they tell their friend. It's a good thing, though, that people actually want to see us."

Of course, the group's popularity owes more than a little to the iPod ad that features them. "We've been playing for, like, three or four days now here and it's all sold out," said the other half of the Ting Tings, Jules De Martino. "And I guess that's because the ad has been around and it got people to check us out." While their single "Shut Up and Let Me Go" has become a hit and is among the many contenders for a VMA nomination for Best Pop Video, White thinks other songs on their album are even better.

"We've got just naturally popular songs," he said. "We haven't even unleashed our best songs on them yet, so I can't wait!"

The Ting Tings will continue their busy tour schedule, but they are also looking forward to getting back into the studio, especially for a new collaboration in the works with rapper Dizzee Rascal.

"He did a cover of one of our tracks on the radio in the UK and then we met him at [the Glastonbury festival] and we talked about it," De Martino said. "We're just looking for some space so we can get into the studio and bang something out."

The Ting Tings say they're hoping to film their next music video in the States after their tour. In the meantime, they're enjoying their growing US popularity.

"People are just starting to discover us at such a fast rate here," De Martino said. "It's a lovely place for us to be at the moment."