WORDS AND IMAGES SAM HOLT
Birmingham band The Twang are back in Bristol tonight as part of their recent Christmas tour. This time, they’ll be performing their second album Jewellery Quarter in its entirety, which was released fifteen years ago. Jewellery Quarter is the follow-up to the incredible Love It When I Feel Like This. Initially, I didn’t play this album much, but more recently, I’ve been playing it again. I think it’s a fantastic album in its own right and perhaps comes across more as a cohesive whole, unlike LIWIFLT, which could be argued to be simply a collection of tracks, some stronger than others.
The Twang consists of Phil Etheridge on vocals, Jon Watkin on bass, Stu Hartland on guitars, and Ash Sheehan on drums. For tonight, they are joined by Bristol-based alt-rock mainstays Adult Leisure, who I believe have been around since 2020. They’ve been influenced by the music of The Smiths, among others. Guitarist David Woolford uses a jangly guitar technique similar to Johnny Marr. Their sound came across as a faster-paced, rockier version of The Smiths. Their set tonight was brief but hit the spot, and they were grateful to those who arrived early to check them out. I anticipate hearing more from them in the future.
Pastel, a Manchester-based shoegaze indie band, was up next. Their style could loosely be defined as psychedelic-influenced indie rock. As they approached the stage, the rhythm guitarist hovered over a range of effects pedals, setting the tone properly. Vocalist Jack enquired, “Are you excited for The Twang?” Pastel, I believe, will release an album called Souls in Motion next February and will return to Bristol in March to promote it, joking that “Tonight you get to try before you purchase.” They closed with a terrific song, Isiah, which is the title track of an EP released two years ago. Having previously played alongside several well-known acts, Pastel is definitely worth watching out for.
The Twang took to the stage and played the whole of Jewellery Quarter in full. While “Took the Fun” was received well, “Barney Rubble” set the pace, and the band and the audience were as one, clearly enjoying the music. Vocalist Phil thanked everyone for “coming out on a wet night.” I found myself singing “it’s a quick step over the rooftops,” as were the majority of the crowd when the band played Encouraging Sign. “Back Where We Started” had the crowd singing back in unison, waving glasses in the air. Before I knew it, it was the turn of the beautiful “Another Bus.” While not as upbeat as the rest of the album, it complements it well. As Phil left the stage, he thanked the Bristol crowd: “As always, thanks for coming to see us,” and was followed by the rest of the band as the lights dimmed—but not for long.
Coming back out for a second set, the group launched into Wide Awake, which went down a storm. The Bristol crowd was in fine form, dancing, singing, and enjoying themselves. Singer Phil looked out and saw a young lad on his father’s shoulders and suggested that more people should be up on shoulders. It was a great introduction to You on My Shoulders, and the atmosphere was electric. Apparently, Phil holidays in Spain every year, and tonight someone he knew from this place had traveled to Bristol to see them play. Phil dedicated the next song, Two Lovers, to this person, humbled by the distance they’d traveled.
All too soon, the night drew to a close, finishing with two belters, Guapa and Cloudy Room, which hit the spot perfectly.
Although the band had been on stage for about ninety minutes, it had been an absolute blast. Hearing the album live was far better than any recording. As a band, they truly brought it to life. The band thrived off the audience, and the audience thrived off the band. Together, it was a fantastic night of fun, great music, and with the run-up to Christmas, a great start to the season of goodwill and merriment. Unfortunately, the crowd was smaller than I expected, but the energy more than made up for it. The atmosphere was “amazing,” as someone described it later on social media.
SET LIST
1/ Took The Fun
2/ Barney Rubble
3/ Twit Twoo
4/ Put It On The Dancefloor
5/ May I Suggest
6/ Encouraging Sign
7/ Got No Interest
8/ Back Where We Started
9/ Answer My Call
10/ Live The Life
11/ Williamsburg
12/ Another Bus
13/ Wide Awake
14/ You On My Shoulders
15/ Either Way
16/ Two Lovers
17/ Drinking In LA
18/ Guapa
19/ Cloudy Room
FOLLOW THE TWANG
FOLLOW PASTEL
FOLLOW ADULT LEISURE
Returning to gigs and live music after a short break, and love being able to combine that with photography. For me I’m happy to make a road trip out for the right band/artist. I enjoy all genre’s of music, but a huge Gary Numan, Rival Sons and more recently Dirty Honey fan, but I’m always up for checking out all new music, and its just as important to catch support acts, during a gig, as one day they could be headliners themselves.
