Skip to main content

Hands Off Gretel - Still Angry Tour

 

Hands Off Gretel - Still Angry Tour


Before COVID, Hands Off Gretel (Lauren, Becky, Sean and Sam) were celebrating the 'Angry' EP with a UK tour. They had played a handful of shows before it got cancelled along with everything else, but last week the 'Still Angry' tour finally arrived at The Portland Arms in Cambridge. 

Their set was energetic and fabulous, packed with songs from their last EP 'Angry' and their previous album 'I Want The World'. They have the natural ability to engage and entertain the crowd from start to finish - from telling off the crowd for clapping at the wrong time, to getting us all to chant for "Ron!" they worked to make their fans feel part of the experience. 

Lauren Tate is an amazingly charismatic frontwoman and interacted between songs - encouraging people to speak to her dad at the merch table, and unbelievably she told us a story from the previous night's gig where she literally had to slap someone in the face as they tried to grab her mid song! How someone can do this to another person is an unfortunate and real example of how disrespectfully some people behave. It's a scary world we live in and this is a stark reminder. 

This lead into the new song 'WAR' which is about the harassment and assault that so many people experience - letting people know they are not alone and looking to raise awareness and keep these issues of safety being debated.   

They finished with a cover of Nirvana's 'Territorial Pissings' and gave the crowd an extra song 'Oh Shit' from their album 'Burn The Beauty Queen', but the crowd were still begging for more - chanting "One more song!" as Sean laid on the floor playing guitar. I don't think there was a single person in the audience that didn't enjoy themself, everyone was moshing all night - the Hands Off Gretel scene in Cambridge definitely was alive and kicking. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

'Salem II' EP Review

  'Salem II' EP Review Grace Calver Salem are front-vamp Will Gould (also of the band Creeper) and guitarist Matthew Reynolds, they burst onto the scene with The Apathy Ball and the release of their debut single 'Destroy Me' last year. Today (Friday 7th May) they release their second EP titled 'Salem II'. One of the main things I love about them and this EP is the imagery created with the lyrics and music. The lexical fields of vampires, love and darkness that can be found through all of the songs, paired with the gothic, theatrical and punky sound.  There is an eerie start to this EP with the introduction of the first track; 'William, It Was Really Nothing' before the punchy guitars explode in. A nod to The Smiths' 'William, It Was Really Nothing', this song is a theatrical masterpiece - with dominating vocals supported by a stunning, gothic choir and powerful guitars. This contrasts beautifully with the gentle bell, piano and wind chime sou...

The Skinner Brothers - 'Iconic' EP Review

  The Skinner Brothers - 'Iconic' EP Review Tomorrow (Friday 7th May 2021) sees The Skinner Brothers drop their new EP 'Iconic'!  As their Spotify bio says, "The Skinner Brothers don't fuck about" and this 4-track EP backs up this claim! The EP explodes into action with two new tracks and two previously released singles - but with a twist. First up, the title track 'Iconic' starts with Zac Skinner's vocals and a guitar - then the beat comes in hard and we're rockin'! This is an amazing start, a track full of swag and attitude and will get the crowd chanting along "Iconic" in the build up to the final chorus. 'Iconic' is for winning the game with success against all odds "Get on it, step on it, subsonic, iconic." The second, and other brand new track is 'M.O.R.E', heavier than 'Iconic', it starts small and grows into an anthem oozing with self confidence. 'M.O.R.E' mentions getting up m...

Greysha - 'Gold Glaze' Single Review

  19 year old, Shropshire based singer/songwriter Greysha released 'Gold Glaze' on 20th October.  A beautiful and reflective song about looking back at key events in your life. Told from the perspective of growing up it touches on lots of subjects many teenagers will recognise in themselves, not wanting to be in class, rebellious piercings, also however the more serious and poignant subjects of family and looking back at happier times.  As a subscriber to her mailing list from back when I bought the CD of her previous single 'Aspirin' , Greysha said of 'Gold Glaze' on release "I have poured my soul and a little part of who I am into this" The inflection and emotion she puts into the vocals literally make you feel this is true. A track with layered harmonies and cinematic strings, you smile and you even sing along to the "Gold Glaze" part but you also feel Greysha's pain at times..."Tell the darkness to stay back another day"  Gr...