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.