1,049 ASH, Get Inuit, Frome Cheese And Grain, Thursday 24th August 2017

Now there’s a double-bill that just makes perfect sense, I thought to myself as I picked up a flyer for this one at May’s excellent “All Roads Lead To Frome” festival at this very venue (gig. 1,036)… former spritely young punky powerpop bucks turned enduring, and almost veteran these days, punky powerpop stags (to keep the deer analogy going!) Ash, supported by, well, current spritely young punky powerpop bucks Get Inuit? Sensing a theme here, or am I just hitting the “copy and paste” too much? Either way, this was an irresistible proposition, with recent viewings of both bands showing them to be in top “live” form, so I swiftly booked tickets for myself, Matt (who, like me, had been blown away by their “Shiiine On” set in November), Rach (who’d been missing Ash gig chances of late so wanted to make up for lost time), and, after checking it was a 10+ gig, Logan too (who’d latched onto Ash thanks to repeated airings of their impressive singles collection “Intergalactic Sonic Sevens” in the car)!

Kasey was the odd one out in the fam, but Laura babysat, and we hit the road at 6.45, a twisty and turny run via Bradford On Avon pitching us up at 7.45, just as Matt arrived! Collected tix and eschewed the solo acoustic guy on the bar for a catch-up outside, mainly about my new job! Doors at 8, and we wandered in, finding a sparse early doors crowd, so an easy front row place for Logan’s viewing spot. Ran into Get Inuit’s James during a quick loo trip, advising they were on in, “7 minutes…” True enough, they emerged prompt at 8.30, gearing up and bursting into a crisp, bright “Mean Heart”. From the off, unfortunately, the sound did them no favours, being tinny and a bit echoey from our front row spot (better a few feet back, though, according to Rach), but that seemed to bother them not a whit, as they set to it with unrestrained and joyful ebullience, particularly pliable vocalist Jamie… I’m sure backs aren’t meant to fold back as far as his does! Jamie echoed my sentiments, commenting, “what better way to warm up for Ash than playing some songs that sound like Ash?” before leading into the gabbling, Silver Sun-esque “All My Friends”. “Cutie Pie” reminded Rach of The Figgs’ classic “Favorite Shirt” (good spot!), and “Hot Air” sounded soaring and anthemic, as I shook a leg down the front. The boys were all in good fooling, Rob commenting on the bunting in the hall (!), James playing some guitar riffs lying down (to Logan’s delight!) and still hitting the correct pedal (!), and the gyrating Jamie pleading, “please buy our merch!” during the pregnant pause midway through a sinewy, riffaholic “Barbiturates”. Searing closer “Pro-Procastinator” was preceded by Jamie lauding Ash for the tour; “they’re lovely people inside and out, I know you’re thinking of being hostile to them… so don’t!” No worries there, and Get Inuit totally nailed this set. Nice one boys!

After a chat with Rob and a catch-up with Jamie on the merch stand (Logan getting a signed CD), Logan whiled away the interval chatting to a friendly roadie (who advised him to get some earplugs in!) as he set up onstage. Ash were wasting no time tonight either; said roadie (more from him later) bolted the Flying “V” onto Tim Wheeler as he led his charges onstage, immediately powering into a savage, wah-wah-tastic “Lose Control”, all white light, strobes and drama. “A Life Less Ordinary”, next up, saw a kneeling Tim play the opening riff inches from a delighted – and singing along! – Logan, and by “Goldfinger”, they were in their stride, firing hit after hit straight into their devoted hard-core following. “Nice of the Foo Fighters to leave their bunting behind!” Tim quipped before an excellent “Machinery”, with the subsequent “Kung Fu” seeing some lengthy, stadium-style  call and response tomfoolery between singer and audience.

And here’s where I bitch and moan a bit (not about the band or their excellent performance, though…); with their remarkable back catalogue and almost flawless run of singles, this lot should be playing places waaay bigger than this. Yes, still! Tim commented that this gig warmed them up nicely for Reading, where they’re playing the third (third!) stage, second on the bill to (who the fuck are) The Hunna. They should be headlining the whole damn show! What the fuck is wrong with this picture!!!??

Still, I suppose it means we can get up front and close with the band, and Tim can do things such as praise Get Inuit, then notice my “I’m Wasting My Life” t-shirt and announce, “glad to see someone bought their merch!” Back to the rock; “Walking Barefoot” was a surf-tastic taste of the Summer we didn’t get (again), “Shining Light” an epic, roof-raising sincere singalong, and after a glowering, hard and heavy “Orpheus”, “Girl From Mars” got the mosh really going, possibly the best sounding number on show tonight. A bouncy “White Rabbit” saw another splendid, fun Ash set to a close, the band then easing into the encore with an initially discordant yet building, widescreen “Twilight Of The Innocents”, before a contrasting, frantic “Jack Names The Planets”. Tim then invited Logan to sit on the stage for “Burn Baby Burn”, Logan happily singing along as the place went appropriately batshit crazy for Ash’s signature tune, ending a great night.

Actually, not quite ending it… I’d grabbed Tim’s list, but our friendly roadie emerged with the sound-desk’s list for Logan, which he then took backstage to get signed for him! Result! Hung with the Get Inuit boys on the merch stand before tiredness took hold of a rocked-out boy, and we bade farewells, luckily bumping into Ash bassist, the very tall Mark Hamilton, for a pic in the lobby. Double result! Home for 12.15, full of Ash (and also pleased I'd made Get Inuit converts of my wife and son!), and with a new album in the early stages, more to come from them. Still breathing, heart still beating!

1,019 GET INUIT, Twin Wild, Mellor, Southampton Joiner’s Arms, Thursday 26th January 2017

Barely 9 months since I last crossed paths with Sittingbourne’s finest self-confessed purveyors of “dirty surf pop” music, Get Inuit, yet it seems longer… given that I missed their last UK jaunt last October on account of being out of the country, I was keen to renew acquaintances, and booked this Joiner’s gig up pretty smartish, one of a smattering of headline shows in advance of a larger February tour supporting Spring King – a tour I can’t get to, due to other gig clashes. Happy to get to this one then!

A freezing cold yet fairly clear run down to the South Coast saw me parking up a stone’s throw from the venue entrance at 8 – hooray for free street parking! The venue was already reasonably well attended, certainly a larger – and much younger and more female! – crowd than for the So So Glos, last month… Took a watching brief for openers Mellor, on just after my arrival. They kicked into some upbeat and catchy guitar-heavy pop, robust and rhythmically driving, with those good old fashioned and often overlooked virtues of strong hooks and tunefulness. “It’s a bit chilly, innit – let’s get warmed up!” announced young vocalist Gary before the push’n’shove modish rhythm of next single “Visitor”, Gary also enjoying his wordplay with, “looking forward to Get Inuit? Forget Inuit, we’re getting you into it…” (groan!) “Fire On Fire” recalled the Candyskins or even early U2 or Ash in its’ wide-eyed optimistic indie pop and featured a well-observed pregnant pause (I like those), but closer “I Don’t Know Where I’m Sleeping Tonight”, a whip-crack fast B movie sci-fi soundtrack thrill-ride recalling early Scars, was the highlight of this bright set. A couple of bum notes and missed vocal lines, sure, but here’s a band with some talent and potential.

Main support Twin Wild were up next, as I popped out briefly beforehand to check the motor, but their set was late-starting, initially technically besieged, and when they got going, their scuzzy proto glam/ blues sound was reasonable but poor fayre after Mellor.  The leathered-up and bequiffed young vocalist was an imposing presence, reminding me of The Blow Monkeys’ Dr. Robert (remember him??), but I preferred my chat in the bar with Mellor vocalist Gary, a personable bloke and clearly a student of his indie rock, citing The Smiths as his all-time favourite band. Good man!

Took my front-centre spot after one last trip to the car to dump my hoodie; Buddy Holly-alike vocalist Jamie spotted and recognised me, which was cool, and broke off his set-up for a quick chat (“I thought you lived nearer to Bristol!”). In short order, however, Get Inuit were good to go – no technical difficulties for these boys! They smashed into opener and recent single “Teriyaki” with their usual bucketloads of vim, vigour and enthusiasm, inciting the same from a young moshpit – and this old dodgy-kneed bloke too! Jamie was his usual kinetic stage presence, throwing shapes, high knees and rawk moves, as the 60’s doo-wop surf pop of “My Oh My” and the slower, growlier but still splendidly harmonic newie “Tread The Water” set the scene for a brilliant, amphetamine double whammy of “Mean Heart” (featuring some rabble-rousing primal screaming from the slightly built vocalist – where’s that coming from?) and the frantic “Cutie Pie”.

“It’ OK to slow down once in a while,” Jamie remarked as he introduced a more considered newie “Heavy Thoughts”... A word on the smattering of new numbers here – despite sounding more proficient, dare I even say mature, them apples didn’t fall too far from the tree, underlining Get Inuit are exploring their sound and realising their own potential very nicely indeed thank you. “Barbiturates” (“a bugger to sing,” apparently!) was a grungy trampoline marathon with the second pregnant pause of the night – this one maybe milked a little by Jamie! – and the dynamic closer “Pro Procrastinator” sent the kids off to their beds with one last mosh and a mini-stage invasion, after another jet-propelled and all-too-short set of spiky, spunky powerpop thrills.

Hung about afterwards, enjoying a particularly long chat with bassist Ollie and greetings from the rest of this gregarious young band, before a quick pic and a Lauda-esque run back up the chilly A34/M4 beat route home. Chilly tonight, but Get Inuit brought the sound of Summer once again!

984 GET INUIT, Supporting Vant, Soeur, Bristol Louisiana, Sunday 17th April 2016

A second Sunday night trundle down to Bristol in a row; this time it’s in the fine company, both onstage and off, of young Summery indie-rock spunkers Get Inuit, a band rapidly becoming a regular fixture on my dance cards of late. Displaying an admirable, almost Mega City Four-like work ethic for simply piling into a van, getting in front of punters and playing the rock, they’ve just returned from a US jaunt encompassing the Industry whore-fest that is SXSW in Austin, Texas, and are immediately back on the road again in support of fellow up and comers Vant. So let’s face it, if they’re making the effort to tramp all over from Kent, then I can make the (relatively) short journey to Brizzle from the ‘Don!

 

I mentioned “company, both onstage and off”; following a sunny run down the M4 and a wander over the temporary bridge after parking up at the nearby Thekla car park (the usual Prince Street road bridge being closed for extensive-looking repairs – note for future reference), I wandered into the Louisiana’s downstairs pub, immediately catching sight of the Get Inuit boys. They recognised me, which is always nice, and I joined them for a brief catch-up and chat about their US adventures, and the pros and cons of Record Store Day (the previous day, ignored by me this year)! Eventually wandered upstairs to check out openers Soeur, a new Bristol trio fronted by a couple of guitar-toting femmes fatales, knocking out some hard and heavy, hair-swirling power chord riffery and channelling the likes of Veruca Salt in the process. Set closer, the aptly-named “Tough” was the best of their short set, a loud-quiet-loud “Lithium”-alike, which after a creepy slow-burn middle 8, saw the girls jumping offstage for some primal screams into the mic (also set up offstage in the front rows), and some manic whirling about, one such leading to me getting caught plum on the chin with a guitar head! Well, I guess if you stand too close to the fire, you’re gonna get burned now and then...!

 

Took a spot down the front, stage right (the other side to the ubiquitous Jeff) whilst Get Inuit set up. My mate Rich Craven, at the NEC in Birmingham for ELO tonight, had posted a pic up on Facebook of their stage set-up, with the comment, “ELO – not long now”, so I retorted by posting a pic of the Get Inuit boys plugging things into things and generally milling about onstage, with the legend, “Get Inuit – not long now...!” Sure enough, it wasn’t, as the boys burst into strident, poppy life with usual opener, the yelping and joyfully amphetamine-fast “Mean Heart”, followed by the swampy, creepy “I Would”. Jeff and I were shaking our booties from the outset, and got an early name-check from vocalist Jamie thanks to our front-of-house dancing. A pounding “Cutie Pie” channelled Buddy Holly through a Vaccines filter, and following a spritely new number, Jamie remarked, “that was a brand new song, but let’s face it they probably all are [to you]”, to which some wag down the front (okay, me...!) retorted, “not to me and Jeff!”

 

The sound, probably set up for Vant’s heavier and screamier riffery, wasn’t great tonight, and Jamie’s more nuanced, idiosyncratic vocals were often submerged in the mix, but the boys powered through gamely, their ebullient enthusiasm more than making up for it. “My Oh My”’s doo-wop harmonies were followed by the more expansive “Barbiturates”, this slower-burn number giving the angular Jamie more scope for some vocal gymnastics; then the gabbling, rampant new-waveisms of “Pro-Procrastinator” saw me doing some Logan-like arm-swings in the slower middle-8 section! “I Am The Hot Air”, the most “pop” and Candyskins-like number in their current catalogue, closed out a breathless vignette of a set, bookended by Jamie’s final comment of, “we’ll be down by the merch stand giving you puppy dog eyes!”

 

Got my breath back as the small room then filled up considerably for the headliners; I gave Vant a couple of numbers but found them formulaic post-grunge Nirvana copyists (although probably not as blatant as Bloody Knees). The kids went mad for them though, a jumping mosh in full swing as I extricated myself from the crowd. Hey, no accounting for taste... Grabbed a few quick words of mutual appreciation with Get Inuit guitarist Ollie downstairs before hitting the road, back home for an entirely sanitary 10.30. That’s 3 in the books for Get Inuit in the last 6 months, and here’s to many more from this eminently promising Summery, powerpoppy band of young bucks!

972 GET INUIT, Fish Tank, Van Zeller, Many Monika, Bristol Exchange, Wednesday 3rd February 2016

It feels like I’m coming out of hibernation... following a man-flu infested Christmas and a gig-free January (the first such month since July 2013...), it feels like the year’s finally getting under way with this, the first of two in two nights, and 5 in Feb! After seeing splendid young bucks Get Inuit at Start The Bus in November (gig 965), I’d described their sound as a plethora of summery powerpop bands distilled down through a distinctly 2015 filter; however after picking up the buoyant guitar noise of their 9-track EP, it kinda came down to 2, namely Silver Sun and The Candyskins, locked in a scrap over who gets the last sunbed. Certainly enough to drag this old rocker down to Bristol on a school night for some surf-punk infused fun!

 

So I hit the road at 7 and easily found the Exchange (a new one on me), parking down the road and hitting this scuzzy rabbit warren venue (which recalled Southampton’s fine Joiner’s Arms) midway through openers Many Monika. A trio fronted by an androgynous but hirsute male vocalist with quite the highest-pitched lilt I’ve heard since Sweet Jesus’s Ben Bentley, only with a similarly fey speaking voice. Despite a poor early turnout (about half a dozen punters and assorted Get Inuit chaps), he gamely shook his booty onstage to some punchy glam pop, of which penultimate number, “Suburbia” was the best, a Lou Reed style street story set to some VU-esque droney guitar. Not bad for starters, and better than the next band up, local lot Van Zeller. Following a somewhat fiddly soundcheck, they took the stage to a suddenly full and fulsomely enthusiastic home crowd (clearly everyone they knew...), and played some high-octane and driving but formulaic and ham-fisted rock, which went down well with da yoof. Not for me though, so I passed the time chatting with various passing members of Get Inuit, vocalist Jamie popping over having remembered me from Start The Bus, which was nice.

 

Everyone fucked off after Van Zeller! As tour support Fish Tank soundchecked, I commented to a fellow punter that there was a crowd here, once... So Fish Tank again came onstage to a small clutch of interested punters, but, undeterred, they set to their task with gusto. Another 3 piece, they had the right attitude (evinced by the bespectacled vocalist’s opening shout of, “Oi! Smokers outside! Fish Tank are on!”), and an immediately evident ear for a snappy, Britpop-influenced tune. Clearly of a similar hue to their tour buddies and headliners, their set was upbeat, spritely, hook-laden and eminently listenable crunchy guitar pop with some modish push’n’shove rhythms. No little humour either; early between-song banter consisted of, “small talk between songs but keep short!” and new single “The Bend” was introduced with, “this is our next single, we hope you like it ‘cos if you don’t we’re fucked!” This toughened-up number featured some intricate guitar picking from said vocalist, plus some Frank Turner-esque bellowing during the strident chorus. By the cacophonous climax of finale “Wizard” they’d enticed a good crowd back. Good set – good band!

 

So again, a bit of a wait in an empty room (where does everyone go?) as Get Inuit set up. Rather than issuing a bolshy rallying cry to start their set, however, they kicked straight into opener, the glorious helium pop of “Mean Heart” bang on 10. The irresistible mutant surf-psychobilly gallop of “I Would” was next up, and I rocked out as best my dodgy and heavily strapped knee would allow (dancing from the hips up these days, guys...!). Vocalist Jamie promised us, “a margarine tub of songs!” and delivered them with soaring, nasally tinged vocals and an energetic, kinetic and pliable performance, ably backed up by his equally up-for-it bandmates. The quiet/loud dynamics of newie “Barbiturates” featured some pregnant pause mucking about and playful “Sweet Child Of Mine” riffery, also showing a hitherto-unseen darker edge to their rampantly optimistic guitar pop, whilst “My Oh My” possessed a singalong, Buddy Holly-like chorus hook and deserves to be a Summer smash. Some Fish Tank baiting and drummer Rob’s repeated playing of the “Seinfeld” theme on a beatbox provided some between-song fun, and “Pro Procastinator” was again a flappy-gummed quickfire pseudo New Wave delight. All too soon, the set was done, Jamie remarking, “time for bed, take your calpol!” to the young crowd, before the soaring chorus of final number “I Am The Hot Air” concluded a set which for me cemented Get Inuit as a very very promising band indeed, and hopefully a regular on future gig itineraries.

 

All splendid chaps too, writing some lovely compliments on my setlist afterwards, and a quick chat with Jamie onstage revealed he’d checked out – and loved – Silver Sun following my recommendation. Cool! A damn fine way to kick off 2016’s gigging year overall, and you bet I’ll be back for more Get Inuit!

965 BROKEN HANDS, GET INUIT, Diving Bell, Bristol Start The Bus, Sunday 1st November 2015

Sometimes it’s cool to just go completely Larry Last-Minute on a gig, and take a chance on a couple of promising young bands for an evening’s entertainment. Case in point; tonight’s hosts Broken Hands and Get Inuit, a couple of acts from Kent, who are currently rocking around the UK’s toilet circuit together in a bid to get their music to a wider audience. Fair play to ‘em! I’d come across Broken Hands before, playing an intriguing set of psych/ Krautrock in support of Howler at the Louisiana 18 months ago (gig 908), but Get Inuit were a fairly new name to me, although I’d followed them on Facebook after a couple of NME.com-recommended bouncy guitar-heavy vids piqued my curiosity.

So, t’was a late shout and a cautious drive down an increasingly foggy M4 listening to the Mexican Grand Prix, parking up in a deserted Trenchard at 8.15 and hitting an equally quiet Start The Bus, across the road from the Hippodrome, shortly after. Through the black curtain partition separating the venue from the main pub, local openers Diving Bell were plying their trade to the ubiquitous Big Jeff plus a half-dozen other punters from the corner stage. I only caught a couple, of which the last, “Slate”, was their best, recalling My Vitriol with a powerful rock base and some textural guitar riffery, plus an impassioned vocal howl to finish. I remarked on the MV comparison to the vocalist, who took it as, “a huge compliment – I’m still waiting for their second album!” Me too, but don’t hold your breath, mate…!

Get Inuit set up in pretty short order and kicked into their set shortly after 8.45; a chunky surf/ powerpop opener, with some soaring, high-pitched vocals, recalled Surfer Blood’s excellent “Swim”, and thereafter they cranked up the ante with an amphetamine blast second number. “I Am The Hot Air” followed, and I felt like I was watching Silver Sun back in the 90’s all over again –bespectacled vocalist Jamie resembled da Sun’s gawky, Buddy Holly clone vocalist James Broad in a certain light, and the boy was certainly giving his tonsils a good workout, some notes scraping the ceiling in a similar style to Broad’s helium-fuelled tones! “Procrastinator” which Jamie introduced as being, “chuffed with the depth in the lyrics,” was a change-of-pace surf punk romp with some gabbled quickfire proto-New Wave verses, and set closer “Mean Heart” was a potential Summer anthem, the infectious circular poppy hook of, “I’m out of mind” jet-propelled by a driving, soaring beat. Great stuff; like a whole chunk of infectious, upbeat Summer pop bands condensed through a decidedly 2015 filter – what’s not to like about Get Inuit?

A brief chat with vocalist Jamie and Jeff (he agreed with my Silver Sun comparison) while Broken Hands were setting up their keyboards and gear onstage, then we were onto promising band 2 of the night in short order. Considerably darker than their contemporaries and tour-buddies, Broken Hands came on to a darkened stage and an eerie radio transmission and bleeping feedback loop, an apposite scene setter for their moodier yet no less intriguing and entertaining set. Second number “Should I” featured the entirely appropriate lyric of, “am I just tripping”, as the layers of siren sounds, distorted, echoey vocals and descending synth notes gave it the impression of a hazy, blissed out and half-remembered dream, and the subsequent “Who Sent You” was a more strident number, with tumbling tribal drums overlaying some bone-crunchingly fearsome psych-blues guitar riffery. We again got the “meteor” double, with “Impact” a fractured, widescreen anthem, all gut-wrenching drama, and “Meteor” a metronomic dystopian thrillride, dark and menacing. Vocalist Dale Norton, possessor of a strident and haunting, pseudo gothic Jim Morrison voice, is also a young man with plenty of confidence and stage presence, his jumpabout, kinetic performance almost recalling a young Julian Cope. Yup, that good. The set drew to an end with Norton thanking us profusely for coming out (“this is the only Sunday of our tour; god bless the Sabbath, god bless rock!”), final number “Turbulence” closing out a set bristling with fire, mystery and invention.

No set-lists – neither band used one! –but chatted with various band members afterwards before setting off into the murk, commenting favourably on the juxtaposition between light (Get Inuit) and dark (Broken Hands), and how well the two bands complemented each other. Two bands no doubt destined for bigger stages, and a splendid Larry Last-Minute gig!