(Yeah, I didn't get the Bob Vylan set-list, but took a pic of it anyway...)
Two
gigs on the same night in Bristol? Am I turning into Big Jeff, or what…?!
Very
strange bedfellows as well, these two hosts; I’d booked to see spritely pop
combo The Beths waaay back in 2020 for this gig’s initial date of Autumn of
that year, as part of a UK tour promoting their splendid hook-laden sophomore
CD “Jump Rope Gazers”, only for their native New Zealand’s “closed borders”
approach to Covid to cause multiple postponements, the date finally settling on
3rd April 2022 (and also being moved to the Exchange from the
initial SWX venue, the tickets for this sold-out gig being split between
matinee and evening shows). In the meantime, Logan and I had been blown away by
Bob Vylan on their Biffy Clyro support slot last November (gig. 1,197); whilst
veering towards in-your-face rap, which isn’t usually to my tastes, I
nonetheless liked the underpinning punk rhythms and sensibilities, and saw in
vocalist Bobby a passionate young spokesman, a Don Letts or Benjamin Zephaniah
for these still sadly divisive times. So it was an easy decision to snap up a
couple of tix for an early evening Bob in-store and signing sesh at Bristol’s
Rough Trade Records, an increasingly familiar and usually thoroughly enjoyable
scenario for us both. Typical of our luck then, that The Beths’ gig was
postponed once again, this time due to band illness, and rearranged to a 3rd
venue, this time The Fleece, but for the same date as Bob’s in-store! Bollocks!
Frantic e-mails to the Beths promoter ensued, to try to score a single ticket
for this long-sold out show, an approach which finally bore fruit with some
returned tickets going on sale the weekend before. Phew!
So,
we were up for a rare double-header, heading off just before 5.30 for a swift
jaunt down the M4, parking the car up near The Fleece then wandering across to
Rough Trade. The start time for Bob was 6.30, so we were expecting a 7 p.m.
stage time; unfortunately (as we quickly gathered on arrival at a very quiet
early doors store) we were some way off… As the time wore on and we
frustratingly milled around the venue entrance at the back of the store, I had
my red velvet shirt felt by a very camp lady called Gemma (remember the name…,),
who then complimented Logan’s handsomeness! Eventually the doors opened at 7.20
and I killed time chatting to a fellow old punk down the front about, well,
mainly old Anarchist punk band Crass!
The
two-piece Bob Vylan (imposing, heavy dreadlocked vocalist Bobby and
comparatively diminutive drummer Bobbie) then arrived onstage at 5 to 8, with Gemma
(who’d squirmed herself down the front as well) immediately presenting Bobby
with a jar of home-made chilli jam! “There’s a lot to process here,” offered a somewhat
taken aback Bobby, also coming to terms with the manic reception from a jam
(sorry) packed room; but after an instrumental opener (“for meditation and
light stretching”) and a debate with the crowd about how to handle this evening’s
show (either take it easy as it’s an in-store, or just treat it as any other
gig, Bobby ultimately deciding to, “just play the shit”), he freed the dreads
and launched headlong into it…
Make
no mistake about it, when these 2 hit a stage, it stays well and truly fucking
hit! Second number in, the ranting hardcore of “Big Man”, the Big Man was in
the mosh giving as good as he was getting from the punks and punters, then
juxtaposing the sheer rampant energy and aggression of the music and
performance with some caring, inclusive and almost light-hearted between-song
banter (his Biff-used line of, “Bristol! The land of Uni students that never
went home!” getting another airing amongst the constant inquiries of, “y’all
alright out there?” and fulsome thanks for supporting the band and pushing the
album into the chart’s higher reaches, rubbing metaphorical shoulders with Ed
Sheeran and Little Mix!). An early “Country Back” was Rage Against The
Machine’s finest hour ramped up about a million notches, “He Sold” a menacing
Pixies “Wave Of Mutilation”-alike, and “GDP” a savage and pummelling hardcore BBC
critique. All along, Bobby’s message, perfectly articulated through his ferocious
commitment, riveting stage presence, righteous anger and bilious quickfire delivery,
was clear – it’s a fucked up world, the rich are getting richer, the inner city
youth are either being discarded or trampled underfoot, it’s about time
something was fucking well done about it. Hear bloody hear!
A
swift, savage half hour was soon over, Bobby summing it up best with, “we
played some fucking punk out there – but I rapped my ass off too!” and we made
our way through the still baying mosh as Bobby praised the crowd one final time
(“this is our favourite place to play – I’m not just blowing smoke up your
asses! You threw that slave trader in the river [so] you’re all right!”) before
kicking final number “Health” into savage, screaming life. However, by then, we
were front and centre in the signing queue… Cognisant of the time and our next
gig, we jumped into said signing queue early and, after a few moments to relax
and collect their thoughts, the boys were out. One brief and enjoyable chat
with 2 very articulate young men later (whence I also took the opportunity to
present them with a signed copy of Don Letts’ excellent autobiography and chat
briefly about The Don), and we were on our way to gig 2 of the night!
We
arrived at a sold-out, rammed and sweltering Fleece just as the female-fronted
support Cherrym were rounding off their set with a couple of appropriately
spritely indie pop numbers, including impressive closer “Take It Back”. Somehow,
we still managed to squirm our way to the front, finding a small pocket of space
down there, house right. Yay! In seemingly short order, the 3-piece Beths took
the stage at 9.30… hold on, 3-piece? Yup, unfortunately guitarist Jonathan Pearce
had fallen foul of the dreaded Covid (!), but, rather than postpone this gig
for the umpteenth time, they gamely decided to soldier on, with vocalist and
usual rhythm guitarist Liz Stokes taking on lead duties with the help of some
intensive practice earlier in the day, and copious notes on her set-list (as can
be seen!). Occasionally, this unfortunately meant that some numbers lacked depth
and oomph as Liz concentrated on the lead line or riff, but these were few and
relatively far between as they, in Liz’ own words, gave it a “red hot go!” A
frantic opening double of “I’m Not Getting Excited” and “Great No One” were
fine openers (the former featuring a great dead stop pregnant pause – I like
them, me!), but an early “Not Running Away” was a brilliantly accelerating
headlong downhill luge ride and the best Beths number on display tonight.
“It’s
sad Jon’s not here but this is an opportunity for Liz to overachieve!” quipped
bassist Ben Sinclair after the C86 jangle of “Happy Unhappy” and this was true,
Liz was certainly doing a lot of the heavy lifting tonight, playing lead and
rhythm lines on top of her pure, lilting, Madder Rose-esque vocal delivery.
Then there were the birds… a display of inflatable birds behind the drumkit,
all apparently native New Zealand species, which inflated and deflated randomly
all night and proved a talking point for the band between numbers. A later “Uptown
Girl” was quickfire and snarky, “Whatever” featured some lovely layered
harmonies augmenting the “Sunday Girl” verse line and general pop fizz, and although
Liz hit a couple of bum notes for the lead-in riff to “Dying To Believe”’s chorus,
this shiny Popguns-like number was still the 2nd best of their set. A
delicate solo encore of “You’re A Beam Of Light” and another accelerating, tumbling
“Little Death” rounded off an overall fine set of bright shiny indie pop. Shame
about Jonathan’s absence, he was certainly missed in sound and presence, but
The Beths gave it their promised “red hot go” well enough!
Grabbed
a list (Liz’, with all those notes!) then we rocketed home, thankfully
unhindered by roadworks this time, both mulling over a couple of fine if highly
contrasting sets. Strange bedfellows indeed, although for both of us the
dynamism and scarily clear-eyed conviction and message of Bob Vylan won the
night. But I’m glad we actually managed to go to this Beths gig after a near 18
month wait and last-minute scheduling hiccups, and overall I hope it won’t be
so long before I get to see either of these acts again!
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment