Another stunning line up hosted by Deadpunk Promotions finds these three class acts on a warm up tour ahead of Manchester Punk Festival. Housed in Bristols Rough Trade, an intimate yet worthy venue.
The evening was kicked off by Billy Liar, a bold and brash solo act hailing from Edinburgh. Billy’s set started with a familiar Rancid cover before charging into his own originals. With relatable song’s such as ‘Hogmanay’ a track reflecting “New years being the first and worst evening of the year” and ‘Changes’ about being a young punk and wanting more from the bands you see on stage. For one man, a semi accoustic guitar and a capo, Billy Liar certainly brings a certain power to the stage. If you’re looking for someone to wrap some crunchy chords around a painful school experience he might be just what you’re after.
Chicago’s charismatic Brendan Kelly, known predominantly for his gorgeous raspy, gravelly vocals in his bands ‘The Lawrence Arms’ and ‘The Falcon’ and ‘Brandon Kelly and The Wandering Birds’ gave us a well rounded showcase of his back catalogue, catering to every fan no matter where you know him from. Highlights for me include ‘The YMCA Down The Street From The Clinic’, ‘PTA’ and ‘Quincentuple You’re Money’, topped off with a cover of Jawbreakers ‘Kiss The Bottle’.
Kelly is an incredibly skilled songwriter. Each song contains a beautiful hook for the audience to grab onto and play with, which creates an amazing atmosphere and very receptive audience. It’s interactive, it’s almost as if you’re watching him in someone’s living room or having a sing-song around a campfire. It feels like an evening with Brendan Kelly more than a gig. He’s funny too, he has this lovely inner monologue way of conducting himself and again it feels like it just breaks down barriers. He knew exactly what we wanted and gave it to us.
Dead To Me were the headliners of the night, all the way from San Francisco, they were high octaine and good humoured from the very start. Launching instantly into a political observation before backing it up with raucous guitars, attitude and solid showmanship.
Playing a mix of songs everyone knows to some nitty gritty tracks for “the deep cut fans” and bouncing around like animals the whole time. I knew a handful of tracks myself but I wasn’t well versed in Dead To Me’s extensive backlist, and you absolutely don’t need to be to enjoy them live. They put on a hell of a show, the way the crowd lapped them up let’s me know I’m missing something so I’ll be having a deep dive into them ASAP. They had one of those really bouncey, friendly pits going, which is exactly how I like it.
They pounded us with killer song after killer song with barely a breath in between them, such phenomenal energy. The climax saw bassist/singer Tyson “Chicken” Annicharico stagedive into the crowd and finish the song crowd surfing around the room, losing his microphone in the process.
The Rough Trade itself is a wicked venue. It consists of a two separate spaces, by day a lush record shop tucked away on the corner of Nelson Street. In the evening the cozy space next door hosts gigs. I read proir to going that it gets pretty hot and to dress light, I was glad for the heads up but by no means was it ever uncomfortable compared to some shows. The bar is one of the most reasonably priced I’ve been to for a long time, and it’s situated extremely close to delicious food and ample parking. I highly recommend a visit.
