PUP — BRISTOL, UK.
PUP at the Marble Factory, Bristol, UK.
with support from Illuminati Hotties and Goo!
After my eight hour shift, I was absolutely buzzing to get out of the office and get into Bristol’s famous Marble Factory venue to watch PUP. Marble Factory is a stupidly cool venue – made of concrete and corrugated iron, it opens out onto a big courtyard with food and alcohol vendors. Inside, there are multiple floors, and the main stage has a mezzanine. It’s also set up for accessibility; there’s a seated area on the ground floor beside the stage so disabled concertgoers don’t need to stand for extended periods of time.
Yorkshire-based indie-pop-punk band goo were the first openers, and they set the tone with a flare for upbeat, drum-heavy tunes. Their closing number, ‘Called in Sick,’ pulled a great reaction from the crowd. From my perch in the mezzanine, goo were a great band to watch — lead singer Tanisha Badman was straightforward and intense, not particularly showy but forceful. The only issue that presented itself was the fact that Badman’s voice and her guitar were seemingly tuned to the same frequency, meaning that sometimes Badman disappeared even when she was yelling out into the crowd. I’d like to also make a particular note of **goo’**s drummer, Sam Drury, who was remarkable. As far as openers go, goo was great at amping up the energy in the room, even if some of their tracks were difficult to distinguish from each other.
After a short break, Los Angeles based indie rock band Illuminati Hotties stormed onto the stage. Having heard their 2018 debut ‘Kiss Yr Frenemies,’ I was already aware of Illuminati Hotties’ music and was interested in seeing what they were like as a live band. Illuminati Hotties are a solidly fine live act. Sarah Tudzin is an enthusiastic frontwoman. She does a lot of crowd work and moves like she’s made of springs; the rest of the band are talented and magnetic musicians.Trans flag hanging from the stage (a show of solidarity I really appreciated as a transgender person in Britain), they were a well-oiled machine. Where Illuminati Hotties don’t work to me is in their sound — they’re a lot cleaner and more manufactured than goo, and without the messiness that comes with being an energetic live rock act, they lose momentum. Their song-writing is aiming for pointed authenticity, but it comes out feeling very flat.
Still, Illuminati Hotties built on the foundations formed by goo, and the crowd absolutely loved them. It might just be that Illuminati Hotties don’t work for me specifically. Plus, they had some great moments — Tudzin has a brilliant scream, and if she deployed those rougher elements more, I’d find her a far more interesting musician. They also brought PUP’s lead singer Steven Babcock out to perform collaboration track ‘Wreck My Life,’ which sent people wild.
After Illuminati Hotties departed the stage, there was another short break before PUP emerged. The great thing about PUP, said the guy behind me, is the mosh pits. This was born out by my own experience of PUP at SWX in 2022 — by the first note the crowd two people over from me had turned into a swirling vortex of elbows, flannel, and combat boots. Regardless of the song, of how long the gig’s been going for, or where the gig’s even happening, a PUP crowd is a rowdy crowd.
They opened with ‘No Hope’ into ‘Olive Garden’; unsurprisingly, the majority of songs played came off their newest record ‘Who Will Look After the Dogs?’ I wasn’t the hugest fan of ‘Who Will Look After the Dogs?’ but one of the reasons I like PUP is because their tracks take on new life live. They didn’t let me down. Even the songs from ‘Dogs’ that I thought were mediocre felt animated and fresh — I’d like to make a specific note of ‘Hallways,’ which was just agonising. Hearing Babcock whine “I can’t die yet ‘cause who would look after the dogs?’ to a crowd of people yelling it back at him struck me dumb. I’ve come out of the gig with a new appreciation for the record, even though my rating remains the same.
Predictably, the old favourites went very well: ‘If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will’/’DVP’ opened a pit that I got swallowed by; ‘Scorpion Hill’ brought me close to tears as per usual, and ‘Reservoir’ was a blast. I didn’t mosh too much, but whenever I got into close proximity with the rowdier crowd, it was heartwarming to see that everyone was picking each other up and there was a palpable atmosphere of support and inclusion. Surprisingly, PUP played ‘Bloody Mary, Kate, and Ashley’ which they haven’t played since they were touring for ‘Morbid Stuff.’ It’s one of my favourite PUP songs — the song that got me into the band, in fact — and so to hear it blasted at me from the stage when I didn’t expect it was wonderful. Closing out with ‘Full Blown Meltdown,’ the gig felt cathartic, a group expulsion of energy into Marble Factory’s warehouse space.
I emerged from this gig the dampest I have ever been in my life. It was the best possible way to spend an evening, despite some early hiccups. If they ever tour near me again, I will absolutely be in attendance.
You May Also Like:
