I’d
booked for this one on the pre-sale and convinced Rach of their live
prowess, so the two of us headed down a damp M4 early doors, getting
caught in traffic on the way into Bristol and therefore
hastily parking in Trenchard about 20 to 8. The haste was due to my
desire to catch openers Made Violent, a young Buffalo, NY, 3-piece, on
at 7.25 and therefore well into their set when we arrived. A whirling
mass of big hair (especially from the Eddie Vedder
lookalike vocalist/ guitarist), big choruses and big riffs, their
scuffed-up, scuzzy rock’n’roll also had some big influences, the likes
of Pearl Jam’s stadium grunge, The Pixies’ gutter sleaze, Primus’
angular yelping and even The Strokes laconic new wave
chuggery all featuring. Schizophrenic, sure, but enjoyable and
intriguing, their best number (another amphetamine-fast Strokes-alike)
ending a briskly and punchily delivered set.
The
floor was already proper old school rammed, so we had a watching brief
stage left by the stairs for main support Drenge, late on at 8.30. A
2-piece expanded to 3 for the “live” setting, their
rock was driving, dark and sinister, with echoey, often nasally garbled
vocals and occasional middle-Eastern influences overlaying their
droney, menacing and fast paced numbers. “Backwaters” for me was their
best number, possessing an almost Spaghetti Western
feel recalling Ken Stringfellow side-project Chariot, and token slow
number “Fuckabout” appropriated The Pixies creepy “Where Is My Mind”
opening riff, but those apart, the set became a bit samey for me, the
formula wearing a bit thin. Would have liked more
of the first band, scattergun and all over the place though they were.
However, they went down a storm with the young Wolf Alice massive…
Ran
into old friend and prodigiously talented photographer Martin Thompson for a brief chat before he went off to photograph the band with his 1903 Kodak for his splendid "Face Collective" portrait series, which was cool, then, as
the witching hour approached, Rach and I squeezed into a tiny spot on
the floor, 2/3 back. I mentioned to Rach that if they
started with “Fluffy”, the opening number from their Festival sets,
this place, already seething with anticipation, would go bat-shit crazy
from the off… Sadly, t’was not to be; Wolf Alice took the stage,
unheralded, spot on 9.30, and eased into a very quiet,
plaintive opener, Ellie’s lilting voice sounding almost nervous. The
languid, libidinous “Your Love’s Whore” followed, still low-key and
understated, the band very evidently feeling their way into the opening
night of the tour, and it wasn’t until the tumbling
cascade of the lovely “Bros” (the touching album version), 4th number, that we saw even a glimpse of the real Wolf Alice…
The
step-up to Academy level venues has obviously required an increased
level of professionalism, slickness, call it what you will, from the
band, and tonight the sound was perfect, a lot of the
numbers replicating the textures and shimmering soundscapes of that
splendid album. However somehow, something was lacking, some maverick,
spontaneous spirit suppressed... I don’t know, I feel a little
disingenuous criticising this band for trying to play
their songs more in the style of my favourite album of 2015; it’s just…
I expected more power! More punch, pace and strident in-your-face
swagger and attitude! I wanted the Wolf! That mighty animal that snarled
so impressively at The Trinity! Instead the mid
set was packed with their more understated, shoegazey material, and it
wasn’t until the carefree, careering riffery of “Fluffy” that the set
really took flight as it could, with the subsequent “You’re A Germ” a
magnificent, bristling punked up groove with
a countdown chorus of colossal magnitude. I turned to Rach at its’
conclusion and said, “now THAT’S what I’m talking about when I call this
lot Mighty,” her pointed and accurate response being, “shame it’s taken
them ¾ hour to get this gig started!”
A
short 50 minute set was capped by encores of a Madder Rose-like “Turn
To Dust”, an equally hushed “Blush” which nonetheless built towards its’
impressive hook, and another splendid “Giant Peach”,
the intensity of this riff-tastic finale reflected with another
frenzied circle pit from the crowd, who’d been up for it throughout. By
anyone else’s standards, this was still a bloody good gig, but overall
below their own high standards, and not a patch on
that Trinity set. Grabbed half a set-list and eventually persuaded a
fellow punter to let go of the other half (!) before we set off (if that was you and you're reading this - comment on this article and I'll get in touch, I owe you!). Hopefully this was just a slight bump in the road on Wolf Alice’s way to
world domination, as they’re still on their way!
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