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Abby Clarke

Don’t Forget Rupert @ The Bodega

Nottingham based indie-rock band Don’t Forget Rupert headlined the Bodega last night for their last show of the year, managing to sell it out just under a day before. They were supported by Ava Saint and For the Girl, also both from Nottingham, and succeeded in performing an explosion of a homecoming show.


Ava Saint kicked things off with an alternative-rock/punk performance including a unique take (but not quite cover) of Brittney Spear’s ‘Toxic’. Lead singer Holly Taylor-Gamble has an incredibly powerful voice demonstrating her abilities by covering Pink Floyd’s ‘Brick in the Wall’ but also adding a punk twist to it making it interesting and even more enjoyable. She informed fans that they will be releasing new music next year which is “a long time coming”.

Ava Saint- Photographer Unknown


Next up were For the Girl, an indie pop-rock group of six who ended up playing to a full venue due to how much it filled up over the course of Ava Saint’s performance. They opened with one of their more popular songs ‘Breathe’ which showcased lead singer Sam Plenty’s distinctive vocals. Their performance included a cover of ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’ by Ricky Martin which got the whole crowd dancing and singing along, increasing the energy of the venue so that it was almost buzzing. They finished their set with another crowd favourite ‘Where did time go’ and walked off to a cacophony of applause, whoops and cheers.


Finally, it was time for the main act-Don’t Forget Rupert. Lead singer Ben Martin was dressed ever-so-cool in a sequined shirt with guitarist Lewis Henderson in rainbow jeans. The group immediately got the crowd jumping, singing and moshing to their music which included their songs ‘The Past Is A Dangerous Place’, ‘Time Takes It’s Toll’ and ‘Get Involved’. Unfortunately, Ben experienced microphone troubles during the first half of the set but this didn’t distract from the show and was soon fixed so that his Brendon-Urie-esque voice could fill The Bodega once more.


Lewis somehow acquired a santa’s hat during the performance so wore that for a while before passing it to Ben while they sang a cover of ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ by Shakin’ Stevens. Also keeping up with the covers, they did a pop-punk rendition of ‘When the sun goes down’ by Arctic Monkeys. However, they saved the best until last, performing ‘Get F****d’ as their encore which saw Lewis get into the crowd and start a mosh pit which engulfed The Bodega’s dance floor.

The night saw some extreme energy along with talented musicians who have exciting things planned for next year. Ben announced that Don’t Forget Rupert will be releasing a new song each month between February and May and he wants to continue to support independent music venues due to the amount of pressure they have on them at the moment. They started their year off at Bodega and have ended it there too, so it will be exciting to see where their music takes them next year.

Featured image- photographer unknown



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