What better way to beat the Sunday blues than by basking in some brilliant live music with a bunch of like-minded souls? That’s exactly what Blackstar Promotions put together for us to enjoy last weekend at the legendary Hope & Anchor in Islington.
The afternoon kicked off early with Tricky Susan, a London-based post-punk quintet serving up an original and energetic opener. Solid stuff to set the stage. Next up were Honeybadger, a relatively young Brighton outfit who bore more than a passing resemblance to Nirvana—both in style and sound. Their refreshingly raw rock, paired with some seriously slick guitar work, made them an act to watch. Definitely a band with bite.
The third act, Neovenator—named after a dinosaur, which might or might not be a warning—turned heads with their striking stage attire. Their drummer, clad in a ringmaster’s costume complete with fez, looked like he’d stumbled in from an entirely different show. The rest of the band, channelling 1920s gangster chic, didn’t exactly match, but hey, who needs cohesion when you’ve got charisma? Musically, they dished out some good, clean rock ‘n’ roll.
After a brief intermission—punctuated, as before every set, by Cherry B.’s cheekily risqué poetry readings—the venue started to fill up. Now it was time for the penultimate act: Headsticks from Stoke-on-Trent, setting the stage for the much-anticipated headliners, The Vapors. Active since 2012 and famed for their formidable frontman Andrew, who spits his rapid-fire lyrics like a punk preacher, they wasted no time launching into fan favourites like ‘What Do You Want’ and ‘Cold, Grey, English Skies’. The tightly packed crowd lapped it up, and by the time ‘My Own War’ rolled around, the whole room was in full singalong mode.
When Headsticks finally signed off with ‘Peace and Quiet’, it felt far more like a raucous Friday night than a lazy Sunday afternoon. Proof, if ever it were needed, that a cracking gig can shake even the most stubborn end-of-weekend slump.
With the sold-out venue now full to brimming the heat rose for headline act The Vapors. The intimate venue offers punters the chance to get up close and personal to their heroes and so it was tonight. Showcasing tracks from their latest album ‘Wasp In A Jar’ the four-piece kicked off with the first single from it ‘Hit The Ground Running’ and they did.
Original frontman Dave Fenton's vocals are still on point. Yes, the crisp guitar driven sound is routed in the pop/punk energy circa 79/80 but don’t be fooled into thinking that this album is just a rehash of old material. It’s a well crafted and musically cohesive work which impresses on every level. Founding member Steve Smith still driving forward on bass with Dave Fenton’s striking son taking over on lead guitar. The line-up is completed with Michael Bowes exemplary on drums.
One of my favourites ‘Nothing Can Stop Us’ drops just before the one we have all been waiting for, the classic ‘Turning Japanese’ which rightly thrills the audience. Other notable highlights from the new album are ‘Miss You Girl’, ‘The Human Race’ and ‘Forever and Ever’. ‘Here Comes the Judge’ b-side to ‘Turning Japanese’ brings the days proceedings to a triumphant close.
An afternoon and evening of delightful bands in what must surely be the best venue in London. Brilliant!
Setlist
Honeybadger
• Cold Wind
• Kias
• Gone Cold
• Spell It Out
• Too Slow
• Schmanka
• Maybe I
Neovenator:
• Launch Day
• Big Crown
• Soho Gardens
• Ollie Ollie Oxen Free
• Cats Away
• Beautiful Ship
• Spaceship
• Effing Bohemians
• Setting to the Buds
Headsticks:
• What Do You Want?
• Cold, Grey English Skies
• Dying For A Lie
• Miles And Miles
• Naked
• The God Song
• Cold
• Flatline Town
• Dark Waters
• My Own War
• Apocalypse
• Peace and Quiet
The Vapors:
• Hit the Ground Running
• Live at the Marquee
• Waiting for the Weekend
• Trains
• Decompression
• Jimmie Jones
• Forever and Ever
• Miss You Girl
• Together
• Wonderland
• Daylight Titans
• Nothing Can Stop Us
• Turning Japanese
• Letter From Hiro
• News at Ten
• The Human Race
• Here Comes the Judge
MUSIC PREMIERES
SEVENTEEN slink into a gloomy, post-apocalyptic world filled with old school technology in the video for their Pharrell Williams-produced single “Bad Influence.” The 13-member K-pop boy band dropped the visual from their new HAPPY BURSTDAY album on Wednesday (June 11) and fans will surely be picking through the arresting clip directed by Beomjin for days looking for Easter eggs.
The video for the English-language single opens with the singers locked in reflective glass pentagons as they sing about wanting to have a good time while seeming like they’re not having one at all. After escaping from the enclosure, they get chased around a brutalist structure by robot dogs singing, “And I had time to think about it/ But life would be so much better without it/ I don’t want it at all/ But, hey, I wanna have a good time” over Pharrell’s insistent, fuzzed-out beat.
And while the song is about having a good time, the action makes it seem like that is a stretch. Dressed in Blade Runner-like leather jackets designed by Japanese fashion house sacai, they stand around while an unseen member plugs an analog cord into a headphone jack that reads “Good” as an old school dot matrix printer spits out the lyrics and a few of the guys ghost ride their old school muscle cars.
The sci-fi action takes a bizarre turn halfway through when they enter a red zone filled with white mannequin heads wearing blindfolds as one of the singer’s puts a checkmark next to “bad” on a checklist that includes “lost,” “sad,” “raw,” “happy,” “innocent” and other emotions. There is also an M.C. Escher-like stairway to nowhere, a bath in a swamp of vintage audio tape, contemplative posing on a pile of tires and moody standing around in dimly lit rooms in the dream sequence-like series of shots that leave more questions than answers
HAPPY BURSTDAY debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart, landing the group their seventh top 10-charting album.
Watch the “Bad Influence” video below.
