Bristol O2 Academy, 26th February
With hair long enough to strangle somebody and the expression of Cabanel’s ‘The Fallen Angel’, Dry Cleaning’s Florence Shaw seems to embody a new kind of rock-star; one who sees themselves as prophet, not performer.
Shaw flickers from side to side like a flame afraid of being put out. Her thin hands reach for a conclusion she can’t find. She looks up with wet, barely-dammed eyes as she sings the lyrics to ‘Gary Ashby’ – perhaps the band’s most easily accessible song – like she’s forgotten she’s performing to anybody at all.
Dry Cleaning are an acquired taste, but not without their moments of spiked adrenaline. Songs like ‘Stumpwork’ and ‘Viking Hair’ bring a little excitement to the set: she cuckoos and hoots until one’s ears pick up like static, even if she remains a bird still unwilling to leave her cage.
It’s a kind of anti-performance; a refusal to do what the rest will. Dry Cleaning’s lyrics are pulled from anywhere – whether that be signposts off the M25 or biographies of Princess Diana – and it can feel like a kind of sonic over-stimulation; a mix of curiosity and confusion.
At times, the show echoes the engagement one has in a stranger’s one-sided phone call. One’s enjoyment of the show, perhaps, depends on whether the feeling that rouses is, ‘oh, if only I knew what they were going on about!’ or, ‘don’t they realise we have to listen to them, too?!’
Perhaps it’s easier to enjoy the show when one thinks of it as performance art rather than a gig. It does, after all, feel more Yoko Ono than John Lennon. Then again, perhaps it’s easier to find a show that doesn’t feel like being spoken down to; Britain’s current wave of speak-sing groups may have begun with Sleaford Mods, but it doesn’t end at Dry Cleaning.
@katejeffrie
@bristolnomad_gigphotography
@thebristolnomad / @bristolnomad_gigphotography
Role: Photographer / Reviewer / Interviewer
Chief, the one that bugs the team for team for their reviews and images. Creator and founder of The Bristol Gig Guide. Can usually be found swamped in admin or getting cramp kneeling at the front of a gig.
Available for: Gig Shoots, Gig Reviews, Photo Shoots, Album and Single cover shoots, Videography work, Interviews and Touring
First attended gig: Republica, circa 1996.
First gig shot: Hands Off Gretel, at The Louisiana!
Dream gig: Huge metalhead and my ultimate dream gig would be shooting my heroes Slipknot at a huge stadium gig, or as festival headliners. And to experience shooting a headline tour outside the UK
Kate Jeffrie @katejeffrie
Role: Lead Writer / Interviewer
I review gigs, and interview bands and musicians.
Available For: Gig Reviews, band interviews
Qualification: I study English Literature at the University of Bristol.
First attended gig: The first gig I remember going to see was Lewis Watson when I was 13, at a pub a few towns over from where I lived. My friends and I all loved him, and I remember how shocked I was that someone I had on this pedestal could be stood on a stage just a few feet away, drinking a beer and playing guitar!
First gig reviewed: The first gig I ever reviewed was Palace at the O2 Academy Bristol. As a band I wasn’t particularly well acquainted with, it was a testament to how live music can bowl someone over, even when it’s coming from strangers.
Dream gig: My dad saw The Smiths on their first tour, and since they’re my favourite band, I think seeing them in an intimate venue would be a dream