After the successful release of their debut album ‘Columbia’, The Blinders have embarked on a UK tour, bringing their political punk rock music to The Bodega last night with support from Nottingham’s Those Howlin’ Sounds, and Calva Louise from London.
First up were four-piece Those Howlin’ Sounds, who also released an album earlier this year. They opened with an instrumental song and had a grunge/punk feel to them. The crowd really enjoyed them and by the time their set finished, the venue was almost full.
Those Howlin’ Sounds- Photo by Jake Haseldine
Calva Louise came up next and their sound was more on the pop side of punk. Having recently supported Hunter and the Bear which included playing at The Bodega just two weeks before, the three knew the venue well and brought enough energy to get the crowd moving and jumping around.
Calva Louise- Photo by Sam Crowston
Finally, it was time for The Blinders to perform. They started the show with some ambient music, setting the scene of a dystopian world with police sirens and shouting which continued to about ten minutes while the crew finished setting up. This then changed to an eerie version of the classic ‘Pure Imagination’ from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Suddenly, Thomas’s voice boomed out introducing us to ‘Columbia’ a fearful and forgotten new world of inequality and injustice.
The show was incredible and included songs from their album ‘Columbia’, which got the crowd jumping, moshing and even crowd surfing. A couple of members of the audience had painted their face to match lead singer Thomas, and for the majority of the set the floor was bouncing too. Thomas managed to climb on top of the speakers and practically touch the ceiling to address us all and bassist Charlie got up close to the crowd almost jumping in on numerous occasions.
After an energy packed set The Blinders finished with an encore of Thomas singing ‘Orbit (Salmon of Alaska’ which calmed the crowd right down and left everyone a bit more peaceful than they had been for the rest of the show. It was a peculiar change of pace for a final song but seemed to work really well for them.
Overall, The Blinders not only performed great songs, they also managed to make a show out of it and had obviously took time to plan what they were doing to create the atmosphere that they wanted. They head off to The Venue in Derby tonight and continue around the UK playing at places including Bristol, Leeds and London. Take a read of their pre-show interview here and if political punk music is your thing, be sure to get down and see them while they’re still playing intimate venues.
Featured image: Nasty Man Creations
Video: The Blinders official YouTube channel
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