Bug Club - (With the Mock Turtles), Hare and Hounds. Birmingham, 17/11/2022

  by Hayley Clark

published: 20 / 3 / 2023

Whilst Birmingham was damp and dreary outside, the iconic Hare and Hounds was the opposite as the crowd buzzed inside awaiting for Welsh trio The Bug Club. In years past Wales has always been a hive for hip upcoming alternative music. Think The Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia and Gorky`s Zygotic Mynoi. There was no surprise, therefore, that tonight was sold out for the band BBC 6Music`s Marc Riley loves to champion with all the cool kids (and some oldies too). who did not let the rain stop them. Support tonight came from the phenomenal The Mock Tudors. The Adidas-clad Sheffield threesome treated the crowd to their electrifying sounds of punk rock as they set the crowd bopping away and alight. Telling stories of everyday life backed by tight riffs and cheeky lyrics, they got the audience`s spirits lifted from the start. It`s easy to see how these guys are getting noticed with word of mouth. “Did anyone get the text today about your HMRC tax return?” the guys asked from the stage to not one response to introduce their track ‘Funemployment’. I was laughing to myself as it had come through earlier in the day, but I didn’t want to be the only one to say yes. Tracks like ‘Bin Day’ and ‘Crypto’ related with the audience. The gnarly catch of “put the block in the block chain” on the latter instantly made me think of my colleague who does minimal work but is obsessed by Bitcoin. I couldn’t resist sending a clip to my colleague asking who it reminded them of. Leaving the stage to “sell some tat”, their words not mine, these loveable rogues set the temperature perfectly. They are definitely ones to watch and add to your playlist. The Bug Club came on to claps and cheers, Tilly ,Sam and Dan treating the audience to a frenzy of sound and Tilly sporting a Mock Tudors T-shirt as she thanked them for their support. As a cry of “We love you” came from the crowd, she sharply quipped back “Aww thanks, mate. You`ll make me cry in a minute.” Their performance was tight. ‘Love Song’ had the crowd singing along with its naughty lyrics, cheeky guitar and drum beats. The sounds coming from the stage were fast and furious to dreamy and light with tracks like ‘Jupiter’, ‘If My Mother Thinks I`m Happy’ and ‘The Fixer’ all in the set list. The crowd was in awe, fixated on the stage as it listened for more. With over 20 tracks in the set list, there was something for everyone. As Tilly proclaimed halfway through, “These tracks are old, so if you didn’t like the new stuff I suggest you open your ears now.” She was unapologetic and fierce as the audience looked adoringly at her. With punk riffs and the heavy beat from Dan at the drums, the audience was captured by their infectious sound and raw vocals. ‘Green Dream in F#’ and an encore of ‘We Don’t Need Room for Loving’ and ‘Hammerman’ brought to a close a phenomenal evening to cheers before The Bug Club returned home to Wales for the final two gigs of the tour.

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