I had never heard of openers So Good (6) before, but to be fair considering there’s bugger all information about them online, it’s perhaps not surprising (OK, they’re all over TikTok, but I’m in my 50’s, so I’m not - but at least I’m still going to gigs several times a week, even if I do have to lie down afterwards nowadays).
This act revolves around dynamic frontwoman Sophie, aided by two synch-dancing backing singers and three instrumentalists in hazmat suits and orange balaclavas, the net sartorial effect of this London sextet looks more like the they’re on their way to a rumble on an estate than a gig…
I’m a bit ‘meh’ about using the term ‘Bratpop’, to describe their music, but I can see why it’s flung around them. For some reason my addled brain was reminded of the brashness of the Beastie Boys, but with London housing estate attitude and a Punkish sense of danger, with the added bonus that they actually play their instruments live, rather than dancing to a click track.
To be fair, blagging a support slot with a headliner of this stature means that’s probably not going to remain either unknown or anonymous for long. With a handful of singles / EP’s released over the last few years, but no album as yet (‘No Sleep ‘Till Matalan’, anyone?), the target market for this act is probably more likely aimed at the handful of students who actually attended the gig (if you don’t hail from Cardiff, the Great Hall is part of the University campus) who were sadly vastly outnumbered by my generation, so they had their work cut out for them.
I’m a bit ‘meh’ about using the term ‘Bratpop’, to describe their music, but I can see why it’s flung around them. For some reason my addled brain was reminded of the brashness of the Beastie Boys, but with London housing estate attitude and a Punkish sense of danger, with the added bonus that they actually play their instruments live, rather than dancing to a click track.
To be fair, blagging a support slot with a headliner of this stature means that’s probably not going to remain either unknown or anonymous for long. With a handful of singles / EP’s released over the last few years, but no album as yet (‘No Sleep ‘Till Matalan’, anyone?), the target market for this act is probably more likely aimed at the handful of students who actually attended the gig (if you don’t hail from Cardiff, the Great Hall is part of the University campus) who were sadly vastly outnumbered by my generation, so they had their work cut out for them.
But they rose to the occasion well and worked this room hard, given how little space there was on the stage for them. As the crowd filled up and got the infectious sense of humour, their two fingers up to the right political ire and their sheer energy won most of the audience over, leaving me time for a little lie down before the headliners.
It really is a long time since I’ve seen Skunk Anansie (10) …
The first time was back in 1995, when they were a bright new thing touring their debut Paranoid & Sunburnt and opening up for Therapy? This turned out to be unfortunate for the headliner, because despite being at their commercial peak, Skunk Anansie completely blew them off the stage at every venue and quickly bypassed them in terms of popularity.
It really is a long time since I’ve seen Skunk Anansie (10) …
The first time was back in 1995, when they were a bright new thing touring their debut Paranoid & Sunburnt and opening up for Therapy? This turned out to be unfortunate for the headliner, because despite being at their commercial peak, Skunk Anansie completely blew them off the stage at every venue and quickly bypassed them in terms of popularity.
For a while it seemed they could do no wrong, and despite the huge changes in tone and popularity turning the market upside down for heavy music in that decade, Skunk Anansie snowballed and bulldozered successfully (in the UK and Europe at least) for three stellar albums, culminating in a headline slot at Glastonbury in 1999, before fizzling out as the millennium turned.
I’ve not followed their studio work since, but they’ve been busy since reforming a decade ago and from the rammed state of the hall tonight, it’s clear that they are absolutely back in business. If it’s not a sold-out crowd, it’s darned close.
Exploding on to a stage resplendent with bizarre inflatable black spikes (it’s so Pythonesque that I’m going to call it ‘Spiny Norman’), Skunk Anansie don’t have much more room than their support act, but they own every inch of that stage from the opening seconds. In fact, they pretty much own the audience space too, with Skin leaving the stage to surf and sing from the pit at several points.
I’ve not followed their studio work since, but they’ve been busy since reforming a decade ago and from the rammed state of the hall tonight, it’s clear that they are absolutely back in business. If it’s not a sold-out crowd, it’s darned close.
Exploding on to a stage resplendent with bizarre inflatable black spikes (it’s so Pythonesque that I’m going to call it ‘Spiny Norman’), Skunk Anansie don’t have much more room than their support act, but they own every inch of that stage from the opening seconds. In fact, they pretty much own the audience space too, with Skin leaving the stage to surf and sing from the pit at several points.
The security and EH&S team may have been a little bit upset by that, but breaking the fourth wall like that, making a huge hall feel like a sweaty club and making the crowd feel an integral part of the show is one of the things that makes Skunk Anansie so darned good to watch.
When you have a band fronted by such a powerful voice that’s been gifted to the force of nature that is Skin, the years melt away. Age often sees a slowing down of the dynamism, energy and power of many a singer – particularly one pushing the top end of a human vocal range for their trademark sound, but that was absolutely not the case tonight. If anything, her voice has got better, adding power, control and gravitas to those heart-wrenchingly emotive soprano vocal chords, whilst losing none of the scale and range from when I first saw them three decades ago.
Tonight’s set list does not favour any era, and for folks like me who’ve missed out on much of the intervening period, it’s a great catch-up opportunity, and also showcased a few new tracks from The Painful Truth, inbound in a couple of months. The newer material has a lot more depth in the writing, and the political fury has if anything grown in line with the complete mess that has been made of the world of late.
When you have a band fronted by such a powerful voice that’s been gifted to the force of nature that is Skin, the years melt away. Age often sees a slowing down of the dynamism, energy and power of many a singer – particularly one pushing the top end of a human vocal range for their trademark sound, but that was absolutely not the case tonight. If anything, her voice has got better, adding power, control and gravitas to those heart-wrenchingly emotive soprano vocal chords, whilst losing none of the scale and range from when I first saw them three decades ago.
Tonight’s set list does not favour any era, and for folks like me who’ve missed out on much of the intervening period, it’s a great catch-up opportunity, and also showcased a few new tracks from The Painful Truth, inbound in a couple of months. The newer material has a lot more depth in the writing, and the political fury has if anything grown in line with the complete mess that has been made of the world of late.
I remember being incredulous at the lyrics of Little Baby Swastika when I first heard them, because it was massively removed from my frame of reference, but the current state of the politics of the world gives them much, much more to work with to the point that I really am looking forward to the new record on the basis of the teasers we heard tonight.
They were hugely relevant back then; they are as relevant as ever now and tonight was an absolute masterclass in how to deliver a show. Fantastic seems too small a word…
They were hugely relevant back then; they are as relevant as ever now and tonight was an absolute masterclass in how to deliver a show. Fantastic seems too small a word…
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