Bristol Trinity Centre – December 7th 2021
A very cold, very wet December evening did little to dampen the spirits of fans as they packed out the Trinity Centre Tuesday night. Warmed up by Coach Party’s infectious brand of indie pop punk, they had no hesitation crooning along with Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” before We Are Scientists took to the stage, launching into recent single “You’ve Lost Your Shit.”
Seamlessly mixing classic fan-favourites “Inaction” and “The Great Escape” with more recent singles such as “Buckle” and “Contact High,” WAS don’t shy away from the opportunity to interact with the crowd and mock themselves – particular highlights being their claiming to have invented the roundabout, bassist Chris Cain’s apparent inability to operate a fan’s mobile phone camera, and the claim that singer/guitarist Keith Murray wrote a love song for his cat (which, given the cover art of “With Love and Squalor,” would you be surprised?)
It’s impressive how well the angular post-punk of their earlier work sits with the more modern indie songs of their recent efforts and closing salvo of “Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt”, “No Wait at Five Leaves” and “After Hours” exemplifies a nice balance of their breakthrough “With Love and Squalor” and 2021’s “Huffy”, stopping to acknowledge hits from all their albums in between.
You’d be forgiven for thinking these guys were new on the scene, not 20 year vets given how they fly around the stage, yet they maintain a tight, crisp performance that sends the crowd home happy with an encore including “Too Late,” “The Scene is Dead” and closer “Nice Guys.” An awesome performance from the New York City post-punk outfit.
📝 Ryan Dawson
📷 Craig J Simmonds Media
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