Gig Review: DIY NEU Tour Bristol
Jack Page | 4th October 2015
Photo credit: Jack Page
3 of the UK's most exciting new acts under one roof? Oh, go on then.
Friday night I went along to the second instalment of the DIY NEU tour, Bristol. Looking around the venue before the show I was able to have a quick look at some of the mammoth acts to have graced The Louisiana stage, from The White Stripes and Amy Whitehouse to The Strokes and Kings of Leon. This got you thinking, whether any of these three bands could have their names on the walls as one of ‘those’ acts.
As the scarlet lighting rose, on came INHEAVEN. As most people know, it’s never easy opening any show, but these guys took to it all very well. The intimate setting proved to work well in their favour as they flowed through a good mix of their latest and previous singles. With shades of stereophonic sounds to their set the crowd were hooked. Personal favourite of the set was 'Bitter Town'.
Second act of the night were Spiltmilk favourites, The Big Moon. It’s safe to say they smashed it. Their set had a lot energy, the crowd were loving it and so were they. Unsurprisingly when the crowd sees an act enjoying themselves then it infects everyone else with the good vibes. With an audience of under 100 you’d think it would be pretty difficult to get a good sing along going. Not for these girls. When the familiar riffed intro for ‘The Road’ began, so did a great interaction with the crowd.
While at the merchandise desk I was able to have a quick chat with Jules (lead singer/guitar) about their upcoming tours, in particular, supporting The Vaccines. She seemed very excited, to say the least. "Cardiff arena, I mean it has the word arena in it!." On the DIY tour itself and being on it with the other bands she said, "it’s great, we’ve been on tour for one day and so far we’ve bonded over 90s boybands and the Spice Girls.". To round up, The Big Moon are going to be gathering bigger and bigger crowds as they keep this up. Also, their cover of Madonna’s ‘Beautiful Stranger’ deserves to be heard by more people!
Closing the night were Vant. As they got on stage a surge of people followed them in to the room. Everyone I spoke to couldn't wait to see them in action and after the first track I could see why. Mattie rose up on to a monitor as they opened with ‘The Answer’ igniting the room to life. It got intense and people started to get a little crazy. There was even a slight mosh towards the middle of the set. Although, this was child’s play for what was in store. ‘Do You Know Me’ got underway and so did a little bit of chaos, but the good kind of chaos. Half the audience clambered up on stage with the band and had a whole load of fun. It rounded off a great night of music and energy.
So I put it to you, if you haven’t bagged a ticket for any of the remaining shows then get one! It’s a great night, full of good vibes, music and people.
Mon October 05 2015 – LIVERPOOL, The Magnet
Tue October 06 2015 – MANCHESTER, The Night and Day Cafe
Wed October 07 2015 – LIVERPOOL, Liverpool Olympia
Thur October 08 2015 – Edinburgh, Electric Circus
Fri October 09 2015 – GLASGOW, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
Sat October 10 2015 – NEWCASTLE, The Cluny 2
Sun October 12 2015 - LEEDS, Brudenell Social Club
Mon October 13 2015 - BRIGHTON, The Haunt
Tue October 14 2015 – LONDON, Dingwalls