Molotov Jukebox - Live Music Review in Bristol
Posted on: 2015-12-07
Our rating:
I enjoyed the set full of Latin tinged rock, the brass section were well drilled and the sound overall was huge. There was all sorts going on.
On Saturday 5 December 2015 I headed down to The Lantern in Bristol. It's the smaller brother of The Colston Hall, though located in the same building. It’s a grand room indeed and could probably take a good few hundred. A pretty nice setting for what was to follow…
When The Church came onstage and opened their set, I was left wondering to myself “What the Hell is this?” but in the best possible way. In all honesty they were an absolute revelation; the crowd participation was constant throughout as they worked through a set of covers done in a gospel choir style. ‘Gangstas Paradise’ by Coolio was the highlight for me. They added their own spice to the covers they did and between songs they were encouraging audience members to come up onstage and confess their sins. I nearly raised my hand but wasn’t sure about publicly confessing...(Editor: anecdote removed for your safety and morality).
You’ll struggle to figure out whether they are from Birmingham, Alabama, or they are in fact from the UK and they are just really convincing! They had everyone down on their knees during the cover of ‘Praise You’ by Fatboy Slim, it was a musical performance - otherwise known as a gig - but also a theatrical production. For someone that spent the previous few hours listening to thrash metal this was refreshing and they obviously won many new fans with ease. The frontman was funnier than most stand up comics I’ve seen in the past few years. It was entertaining, fun, fluid stuff which was completely outrageous and inappropriate. As a Yorkshireman I appreciated this completely.
The room filled out a bit more for Molotov Jukebox as the 9 members crammed onto the stage in Colston Hall’s Lantern room. Slipknot this was not though. I enjoyed the set full of Latin tinged rock; the brass section were well drilled and the sound overall was huge. There was all sorts going on and one thing I noticed was the bass player Tom Wilson- the boy had some serious skills and he and the drummer Rami Sherrington were feeding off each other throughout the whole set. As soon as they started playing the crowd were moving from front to back. It was a ridiculously energetic and positive atmosphere to be caught up in on a Saturday night, really infectious stuff. It’s easy to see why they have a dedicated following, that much is obvious, and they were all lapping it up. Everything about the performance was huge, visually captivating, and the vibe was pure fun. They played a lot of material from the ‘Carnival Flower’ album which went down well.
I remember one song actually reminding me of Dexy’s Midnight Runners (I think it was ‘Tread Softly’) - catchy stuff indeed - and that’s the main bullet point to take from this presentation. Catchy, but not in a teen-pop kind of way! Also let’s not forget frontwoman Natalia Tena; great voice and lead the pack very well. Really captivating performance, glad to have been invited to cover this one. Variety is the spice of life indeed.
4/5
Reviewed by Nick Clay for 365Bristol - The leading events and entertainment website for the city
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
