I’ve been waiting awhile for this one…
Sunderland indie powerpop duo Bigfatbig announced themselves in a huge way onto
my Gig Radar back in November 2022, an utterly stellar and ebullient set on the
undercard of fellow North-Easterners Martha signalling their arrival. Since
then, I’d been scouring the gig guides (metaphorically speaking these days, of course)
for more BFB shows “down South”, but, aside from a brief tour calling in Oxford
last Autumn, on a night where I already had a double-gig clash (!),
opportunities were scarce, until their announcement as tour support of Du
Blonde, the current musical incarnation of multimedia artist Beth Jeans
Houghton. I know very little of Mx. Houghton, so this was a case of Du Who? for
me… I’m there to support the support, and if the headliner is any good as well,
then that’s a bonus!
A swift and easy drive down got me parked and queued up just before 7, in time to ask a passing Robyn, BFB’s charming vocalist, what their stage time was. The reply confused me a little; “about 10 past 8, and then 9!” but all would be revealed… grabbed a spot down the front, house left, and chatted to fellow punters Ian and Hilly, who were as up for the headliners as I was for the support! Recent gig friend Jeremy arrived and joined in the chat, before Robyn, guitarist oppo Katie, and their touring rhythm section hit the stage. And hit it hard! Opener, “ Reason Season Lifetime” from their excellent 2024 “Rippin’ It” EP, set the tone for the set, a soaring and upbeat indie banger with a choral hook big enough to land a whale with, and a mid-song acceleration over a secondary hook, delivered with effervescence, ebullience and charisma to throw away by Robyn, already high kicking and stomping away for all she was worth. The in-your-face punky snark of “Shut Up” followed the gregarious Robyn announcing, “this is the show we were most looking forward to!” also informing us that The Thekla itself was once moored in Sunderland, “so we’ve got a connection!”
Bigfatbig aren’t about reinventing the wheel or pushing the boundaries of rock; it’s standard upbeat buoyant indie-pop fayre with a powerpoppy rush overlaid for good measure, but their 2 key strong differentiating factors are the ridiculously infectious earworm nature of their often huge, repetitive choruses, and without doubt, the sheer gleeful enthusiasm with which they approach their task. Simply put, they’re having an absolute ball onstage, compelling you to do the same thing! “Fine”, my favourite off that “Rippin It” EP, was just brilliant, the slight melancholy air of the verse blown away by the huge dynamism of the choral hook, and “Nothing” (“about not going to work, as it’s just fucking boring!”) preceded Robyn also introducing their touring bassist as a last-minute replacement, the usual twanger not being able to get time off work (“that’s the least punk rock thing ever!” according to Robyn). The dark, frantic, almost emo choral hook of “Inbetween” preceded the band promising to be back very soon, before the huge beetle-crushing grungy stomper of “Don’t Wanna Be Sad” rounded off a breathless and rather superb set. If they’re back soon, then so am I!
It became a little more crowded down the front, but I held my spot, as the reason for Robyn giving their stage times as “8… and 9!” (and promising to hang out at the merch after Du Blonde’s set) became clear… The Du Blonde “live” line-up were Bigfatbig, plus an additional curly, shock-haired red leathered guitarist who immediately gave me serious Poison Ivy Rorschach (Cramps) vibes, plus of course Du Blonde themselves, who was a pony-tailed, weirdly made-up and strutting figure with a husky, low register vocal and, despite not possessing the sheer unadulterated chutzpah of their support act, still an engaging performer. Opener “Perfect” was a moody, mid-paced Weezeresque emo number, with an early “Dollar Coffee” a more upbeat slab of chunky powerpop and “Solitary Individual” a rather fine and flippant Blondie/ Kim Wilde new wave track. A mid-set acoustic break then featured a rather lovely actually slow-burn break-up song, and a Torres-like parched Americana number with a mid-song hiccup which nonetheless didn’t faze the confident singer.
The descending guitar line of the punkish
“Blame” saw the band return, then “Ducky Daffy” was a snappy “Buddy
Holly”-alike, again mining that Weezer seam, before some slower burn numbers to
round things off, the plaintive and insular yet anthemic “Metal Detector” a
lighters-aloft best-of-set for me. Beth left us with an odd analogy (“this boat
is like the Guardians Of The Galaxy; we’re all in it together!”) and a stompy
powerpop closer “TV Star”, to end a better-than-expected set from an odd yet
intriguing talent. I then grabbed a chat and pic with Robyn and Katie at the
merch stand afterwards, before bidding farewell to Jeremy and heading back to
the ‘don for 11. Overall, a splendidly fun night from a couple of fine acts,
but Bigfatbig won the day for me by some distance. Well worth the wait, and
hopefully the first of many!
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