The Scottish based rock outfit arrive back in the UK after a highly successful run of European shows; seeing them play to some of their biggest headline crowds to date. The first night back on home soil is in Bristol and is the largest gathering the city has ever seen for them, with fans filing in all the way back to the merch stand.
It all kicks off with a literal “BANG” in the form of “THIS IS MY LIFE AND MY TRAUMA” with guitarist Hamish Reilly looking dangerous on stage. The only thing more dangerous than his get up are the dirty riffs that come out of the weapon he is brandishing on stage. As Janine Shilstone elegantly graces the stage she commands the room; telling the crowd to open up that pit for “GUNGHO”. It’s a precedent of the night that doesn’t let slip for the duration of the set.
We get a another outing their latest offering “MY GOD HAS GOT A GUN” in the form of “MISTY ECSTASY” followed by “SLO” which sees everyone in the room, fully bouncing in unison for the first time. And in other firsts the next tune “LASSO” sees the room parting like the red sea before everyone goes flying into a wall of death. What’s evident is that despite there naturally being a backing track to bring to life all those little nuances you get on record; the vocals live are still so incredibly on point.
It’s fully showcased on the likes of “MERCY KILL” which sounds bigger than the room that it occupies. The juxtaposition of her dulcet tones and the crunching guitars come together into something quite beautiful. We get a bit more of a breather during “Colour Me In”, which instead sees her sitting down at the front of stage and becoming even more captivating. But that’s it in terms of a rest for this lively crowd tonight and it’s “All bangers to come from here!” they quote.
C.L.A.U.D.I.A opens up the room once again and everything turns into what can only be described as a glorious chaos. As does the wonderful “CREEP HEAT” which sees Shilstone screaming in a maniacal cackle as bodies fly into the pit never to be seen again. It could be a bit of tour exhaustion on their part, but they seem genuinely taken aback by the reaction and appreciation of this crowd tonight. The band have been grafting extremely hard over the years and have clearly worked their way up to the place they are at now and totally deserve it.
We are saved the best right towards the end; “I EXIST” feels like a real party; it’s almost as if the band wrote a pop song. It’s a shame that more pop songs don’t build up to an almighty headbanging breakdown in the end. “Run/Hide” kicks in with it’s infectious riff and builds and builds to its epic drop in its final act. But it’s “La Di Da” that sees the biggest reaction of the night and see Janine launching herself from the stage in an attempt to make it all the way to the back. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts she only makes it about a quarter of the way across before she starts to falter due to the opening of the pits much to her amusement. In just the one song, there are probably more crowdsurfers over three minutes than the venue has seen so far this year in total.
The night finishes as it starts with a heck of a load of energy and that vim and vigour that is synonymous with a Vukovi show. As the fans leave the venue tonight; ears ringing, limbs aching and minds blown, they know that this isn’t going to be the last time they see them again and that next time it’ll be in a room even bigger than this one.