Hands Off Gretel at The Hope & Ruin 6-4-19

One of my most eagerly awaited gigs for a while paid off in spades as Hands Off Gretel put on a storming show with help from 3 support acts in the form of Ragweed, Preacher and My-Hi.

Ragweed were up first and the three piece act from Brighton played a fine set of grunge inspired alt. rock. This was my second time seeing them live and they remain an entertaining live act. There were between song quips about wrestling and beer spraying  aplenty as the warmed the early bird crowd up nicely. They played a handful of news tunes whilst also dropping the 'this might be our last show... we don't know' bombshell. If it was it was a great way to bow out but I personally hope to hear more from them again soon.

Preacher followed them and they're another 3 piece act but one I wasn't familiar with. Their take on the genre was slightly more traditional but they continued the party mood, playing with energy and verve as the venue slowly filled up. I think is would be fair to say however that My-Hi had the largest crowd of the night though despite not being the headliners. They also had the liveliest audience as they launched into their final number and a mosh pit finally broke out scattering a full section of the crowd standing in front of me.


And so to the headliners,  Hands Off Gretel, who's singer Lauren Tate holds a commanding presence on the stage -  equally flashing smiles and sneers with her eyes darting seemingly everywhere at once. If there's one thing she knows it's how to entertain a crowd, she's as attention grabbing a singer as one could ask for but yet never seeming unapproachable or simply putting on an act. Engaging with the crowd as 'one of us', it's just she is the one singing but we're all at our party, not her's. Judging by the crowd response she appeals to all ages and genders as someone to admire and respect.
The band meanwhile tear through tracks mostly off their new album, the brilliant I Want The World before finishing with old favourite Be Mine. And with that short set they were gone. From the stage at least, happy to mingle with after the show and chat.
At the moment they feel like a well kept secret that is about to blow up big time and they certainly deserve on this evidence. Check them out while you can still get close to them.

Desperate Journalist, She Makes War & Projector at The Garage 5-4-19

Desperate Journalist pulled together a strong line up for this show at London's The Garage, a venue in the heart of the Highbury area. In support were fellow Londoner(s) She Makes War (aka Laura Kidd and her band), and Brighton's upcoming and hotly tipped trio, Projector. The main reason for the author's attendance

Projector were up first in what was their first proper show of the year. They came on stage and promptly began with a track both unreleased and not played live before - a sign of the confidence this band has in their new material. Both guitarist Ed and bassist Lucy perform lead vocals in the band, depending on who is the main composer behind the song but this time it was the latter who sung the opening 2 numbers. The aforementioned new track and the familiar Full Circle - previously named Death March. It was a strong and impressive opening. The band sounding more confident and powerful than ever before. Unfortunately, right at the climax of the guitar break in Full Circle there was suddenly silence from the guitar's amp. Lucy and drummer Demelza continued on without breaking stride and finished the track.
After a momentary break things appeared to be corrected and the band played earlier singles I Am Shamed and Break Your Own Heart to an ever swelling audience who received the band well. However, as soon as they launched into another new track - JG Ballard -  the gremlins struck again, Ed laying his guitar down as the 2 vocalists sang in unison over only  a bass and drum backing. Strangely it still worked somehow but wasn't how the band wanted it go and with their frustration becoming more evident by the minute they elected to cut short their set.

They were followed by She Makes War whose performance suffered no such difficulties and the highly acclaimed singer and her band showcased a solid set that appeared to go down well with the crowd.  Her brand of alternative/indie rock acted as a perfect warm up for the headline act.

Desperate Journalist took to the stage around 9pm with the crowd now filling a not quite sold out venue. The post-punk act whose sound is clearly influenced by The Cure (just look at the name) and similar early 80s fare, are fronted by Jo Bevan. Jo's voice is pitched somewhere between those of All About Eve's Julianne Regan and Sleeper's Louise Wener, moving as it does between silky smooth and the occasional hint of rasping. The band's bass driven tracks often feature Rob Hardy's spider-like guitar lines and licks across the top. The result is an engaging brand of post-punk/indie that has strong melodies and hooks with an attention grabbing singer. I approached them with a 'wouldn't mind checking them out' attitude and left with nothing but a positive impression.

Collect Call at The Green Door Store 27-03-19

Brighton newcomers Collect Call made their live debut at the Green Door Store as part of a triple bill featuring headliners Submariner and opening act Drowning Boy and showed that they have genuine potential.

For a midweek show there was a sizeable turnout in place by the time Drowning Boy were winding up their set, and seeing the members of Collect Call chatting to various groups that a decent proportion were out to see them. Perhaps they're well connected, or perhaps a lot of people owe them favours. Either way there's a buzz building around them that will only grow after tonight.

So far they have release only 2 mid tempo, largely electronic influenced singles, Greenhouse and BluPil, both of which were played, but judging by tonight there's more diversity in their repertoire to come. The 3 piece act comprises of  DJ/percussionist Seb Muller, bassist Edward Norton and vocalist/guitarist Joe Thorpe. The majority of the tracks feature Seb's dance influenced beats countered with Joe's more subdued, at times melancholy, vocals. Although the band certainly move things up a gear towards the end of their show.

It was unfortunate that a planned visual display didn't quite work out as hoped. An intended projection of the band over themselves not coming off but they made up for that with a committed performance to a steadily growing crowd who cheered and applauded enthusiastically in the brief pauses, often drowning out the samples playing between tracks.

If this debut show is anything to go by they will steadily build from here and have a bright future ahead.