AERIAL SALAD + PLAY DEAD + BACCI POUCH – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 6.6.24
The 12th April was a great day in the life of Manchester trio Aerial Salad as they released their third long-player ‘R.O.I.’ via Venn Records (order HERE). This follows on from 2017’s debut self-released ‘Roach’ and 2020’s ‘Dirt Mall’ and finds the outfit, consisting of Jamie Munro (vocals/guitar), Mike ‘Wimbo’ Wimbleton (vocals/bass) and Jake Marshall (drums) in fine form. They’re as authentic as it gets and their aim is to make themselves known to everyone and anyone, from rave heads to indie kids, poets to rockers, punks to pop kids, Aerial Salad want to cut through every tribe and every single genre. Think Fugazi meets Jesus Lizard, battling it out with Oasis and High Viz, which let’s face it is an intriguing mix and one that brings me along to Brighton’s Green Door Store for the band’s fifth date out of eight on their current tour. I was here to find out whether tonight’s show (which was being promoted by ‘Scruff Of The Neck’ promoters) would witness Aerial Salad injecting that raw chaos and violent charm from vinyl to a memorable high-energy live show.
The band take to the stage at 9:30pm and launch into ‘Virtue’ which is the first of a half dozen tunes found on their 2020 ‘Dirt Mall’ album. The remainder of the sixteen track set was culled from their new ‘R.O.I.’ album, bar one new as yet to be released song and a special cover. There were none from their DIY ‘Roach’ album from back in 2017 on the account of them informing me that they “were so young when we made it, it feels like another band”. ‘Virtue’ certainly signalled that there is with this Manchester outfit more attitude than inside either of the Gallagher brothers houses! It’s also evident that Aerial Salad are a tight and compact live unit and well worth a watch!
‘Wimbo’ was taking care of a Fender Jazz bass immediately in front of me as I had switched sides of stage from the left during the support artists, having given my left ear an aural bashing and so it was the turn of my right to suffer for the cause. To be honest, it wasn’t ear wincing but it wasn’t far off. Across the stage to me left was Jamie on vocals with Jake to the rear behind his drumkit. There was another call to arms on tune two, this being ‘Chances’ from their new ‘R.O.I.’ album, which certainly benefited from some jolly decent licks and drumming. ‘Lazy’ from their ‘Dirt Mall’ album from back in 2020 had a catchy chorus which I’m sure punters at the annual ‘Rebellion’ punk rock festival held in Blackpool would certainly love. The trio then segued directly into ‘Tied To Pieces Of Paper’ (from ‘R.O.I.’) which had some talky style lines in it. This was fast becoming a musical onslaught from these guys as they whizzed straight into the 1-2-3-4 punk styled ‘Temp’ (from ‘Dirt Mall’). ‘Such A Pity’ from the same album came next and very much had the IDLES vibe going down both musically and vocally mixed in with a Sham 69 style chant.
‘Big Business’ from the new platter witnessed some rather fine Killing Joke style drumming from Jake and then they segued straight into another newbie, ‘As The World Eats Itself Again’ which very much had the same intensity as the Dead Kennedys ‘California Über Alles’. Next up was 2020’s ‘Fever Dream’ which witnessed a comical moment as by now Jamie and ‘Wimbo’ were certainly throwing themselves around the stage, so much so that I spied a banknote fly out of bassist ‘Wimbo’s’ pocket and then he inadvertently started kicking it around and treading on it. I therefore raised my arm right in front of him and pointed down to the banknote, he laughed and mid-tune rescued it and gave it a home again. Let’s face it, with these touring bands they need all the support they can and not to throw money away!
Track ten was a brand new unnamed track which was written about Los Angeles. I can report that it was another seriously rockin’ number. From here they segued straight into ‘All Your Dreamin’’ (from the new LP), but unfortunately ‘Wimbo’s’ luck had started to run out as the bass guitar suddenly cut out. The Hartke bass amp had stopped working, but the roadie brought on another small unit and after a few seconds delay the bass eventually kicked back in and was greeted by a loud cheer from the punters. Their ‘Same 24 Hours (As Beyoncé)’ was next and was like a punk version of Blur’s ‘Parklife’ in parts. ‘Rotting And Shaking’ followed and was their second song of the evening which reminded me of IDLES.
The eye bulging delivery of 2020’s ‘Romance?’ was dutifully served and was very intense and was due to be my set highlight until……all of a sudden at the beginning of their next number (and penultimate tune) my brain clicked in to Gary Numan mode and bloody hell they are only playing ‘M.E.’ from Numan’s 1979 No.1 ‘The Pleasure Principle’ album. The hairs on my t-shirted arms stood to attention in appreciation. They then selected the slower more grungy number to end on, this being ‘Telekon 5’, which no doubt is also homage to one Gary Anthony James Webb (Gary Numan) on account of the title of his 1980 album being ‘Telekon’. The time was now 10:22pm and the lads were done. Fans shouted for more but that was our lot. My colleague then inspiringly stated that there’s the same on stage energy with this lot as Soft Play fka Slaves. Need I say any more? Job done lads! Those that were there were in the know and those that weren’t….oh dear!
Aerial Salad:
Jamie Munro – vocals/guitar
Mike ‘Wimbo’ Wimbleton – vocals/bass
Jake Marshall – drums
Aerial Salad setlist:
‘Virtue’ (from 2020 ‘Dirt Mall’ album)
‘Chances’ (from 2024 ‘R.O.I.’ album)
‘Lazy’ (from 2020 ‘Dirt Mall’ album)
‘Tied To Pieces Of Paper’ (from 2024 ‘R.O.I.’ album)
‘Temp’ (from 2020 ‘Dirt Mall’ album)
‘Such A Pity’ (from 2020 ‘Dirt Mall’ album)
‘Big Business’ (from 2024 ‘R.O.I.’ album)
‘As The World Eats Itself Again’ (from 2024 ‘R.O.I.’ album)
‘Fever Dream’ (from 2020 ‘Dirt Mall’ album)
“New One” (unreleased)
‘All Your Dreamin’’ (from 2024 ‘R.O.I.’ album)
‘Same 24 Hours (As Beyoncé)’ (from 2024 ‘R.O.I.’ album)
‘Rotting And Shaking’ (from 2024 ‘R.O.I.’ album)
‘Romance?’ (from 2020 ‘Dirt Mall’ album)
‘M.E.’ (Gary Numan cover)
‘Telekon 5’ (from 2024 ‘R.O.I.’ album)
The evening kicks off with Bacci Pouch who are an unsigned indie band from Brighton made up of James Neighbour (guitar and vocals), Sam Raymer (bass guitar) and Charlie Heasman (drums). Thus far they have self- released a couple of singles, these being 2023’s ‘Learn To Love’ and this year’s ‘When The Lights Come On’. They are set to drop their third instalment this coming August with the arrival of ‘Normal People’.
The lads take to the stage at 8:03pm to the backing sounds of The Ronettes ‘Be My Baby’ and set about impressing the punters with the first of six tunes as yet not scheduled for release, this being titled ‘She Said’, which saw James putting his Fender through its paces whilst delivering the vocals. It’s evident that there’s a real buzz from the very start as the band have clearly put the word out as they have many mates in the audience and so it’s heading towards three-quarter capacity. Suffice to say that this decent punk ditty ‘She Said’ received a warm welcome, as in fact did all of their songs!
The unreleased ‘By My Side’ was Bacci Pouch’s second selection and although less intense than the opener it still had a pop punk vibe, which like a majority of their tunes reminded me of the long forgotten Northern Irish outfit The Moondogs. During this tune Sam’s bass guitar strap came undone, but rather than trying to fiddle with it mid-tune in order to endeavour to get it fixed, he simply knelt down on the stage and finished the tune. Strap fixed and the trio were away with ‘Dilute’ another unreleased number which was delivered nice’n tightly. Next up was their forthcoming single, ‘Normal People’ which benefited from a catchy opening riff and was very much like The Moondogs and a great selection for a single. Not many pop punk acts would think to cover Fatboy Slim’s ‘The Rockafeller Skank’ but the Bacci Pouch lads did and they made it sound as if it was always a rock number. The trio were certainly on a roll now and sped things up with their speediest number of the performance next, this being the unreleased ‘Corsa’ which sounded as though it totally belonged on the famous ‘Spiral Scratch’ Buzzcocks EP along with ‘Breakdown’, ‘Time’s Up’, ‘Boredom’ and ‘Friends Of Mine’. This was their set highlight for me.
By now the lads only had a trio of tracks left and they were reminding me of another Brighton outfit Shady Baby, which is a positive thing as I reckon they are still in my Top 5 Brighton bands and I was contemplating adding Bacci Pouch into this list, but there’s still three to go! The first of which being their debut single, ‘Learn To Love’ from last year. Sam’s bass rumbled the intro to this track and was another slice of happiness for me. James then informed the crowd that they are going to play “a new one”, which was ‘It Ain’t Pretty’ and yet another corker, which more than any others recalled memories of my Good Vibrations record collection, being the Belfast label founded by Terri Hooley originally who put out The Undertones ‘Teenage Kicks’ and releases by Rudi, Outcasts, Protex and The Moondogs, plus many of a similar ilk. Bacci Pouch signed off with recent single ‘When The Lights Come On’ which was another earworm. Tonight was my first encounter with the band and their set was all hits and no misses and I’m desperate to see them play live again! Their 31 minute set concluded at 8:34pm and yep I had decided that Bacci Pouch had crash landed into my Top 5 Brighton bands list! Great work fellas!
Bacci Pouch:
James Neighbour – guitar and vocals
Sam Raymer – bass guitar
Charlie Heasman – drums
Bacci Pouch setlist:
(Intro tape) ‘Be My Baby’ (The Ronettes)
‘She Said’ (unreleased)
‘By My Side’ (unreleased)
‘Dilute’ (unreleased)
‘Normal People’ (a forthcoming August 2024 single)
‘The Rockafeller Skank’ (Fatboy Slim cover)
‘Corsa’ (unreleased)
‘Learn To Love’ (a 2023 single)
‘It Ain’t Pretty’ (unreleased)
‘When The Lights Come On’ (a 2024 single)
Also on the bill this evening are Play Dead who are a punk band from south London who have been releasing material since the first lockdown. They are not to be confused with the Gothic Rock band formed in November 1980 who recorded consistently until January 1986 when they decided to call it a day. This new Play Dead consists of Joe Blair (vocals and guitar), Ollie Clarke (bass and backing vocals) and Elias Brewin (drums). Thus far they have released a trio of EP’s, these being ‘Skint’ (2021), ‘Mug Cake’ (2022) and ‘Fly On The Wall’ which dropped back in March. Tonight were originally to be given eleven offerings from these EP’s kicking off at 8:52pm with ‘All In My Head’ from the new EP. This being the first of possibly all five cuts from it performed tonight. I was under the impression that Play Dead were going to be giving us eleven songs this evening, but I only counted nine, so it got a tad confusing.
Play Dead were picking up the baton left by Bacci Pouch and were of a similar mode, but arguably offering a more grittier punk sound. I noted that vocalist Joe was left-handed and that Ollie was controlling a Squier bass guitar. ‘Offy’ from their 2022 ‘Mug Cake’ EP was very much in the same vibe as their opening number. ‘Away From Here’ from the same EP saw Joe deliver the vocals with even more punk aggression than their first two tunes. ‘Barbershop’ from ‘Mug Cake’ we were informed was penned about “having a really really bad haircut!”. It’s here when I reckon the lads went off-piste from their proposed setlist as I had ‘Damien Hirst Stole My Art’ (from 2024’s ‘Fly On The Wall’ EP), ‘Brockwell Park’ (from 2021’s ‘Skint’ EP) and ‘Thameslink’ (from 2024’s ‘Fly On The Wall’ EP), but I believe only two of these got played, the first being an almost freestyle jazz number to start with and the second was another fast punk number. After these two selections they played ‘Pretty Little Thing’ (from 2024’s ‘Fly On The Wall’ EP) which for them is a slower chugging number with a talky style vocal delivery.
‘Hide’ (from 2021’s ‘Skint’ EP) should have been next but I think it was omitted as they launched into ‘Body Image’ (from 2024’s ‘Fly On The Wall’ EP) which initially had the vibe as though it could have been played in the heady days of CBGB’s in New York City, before exploding into a Ditz style noise track and then back again. The trio signed off with their outright punk chant anthem ‘Shaun’ (from 2021’s ‘Skint’ EP), which benefited from alternating lines of lyrics from Joe and Ollie. This was a decent choice to end on and a few of us locals at the front concluded that this was indeed their best song. Another solid set, which concluded at 9:17pm, but it was a shame that many of Bacci Pouch’s mates didn’t stay around to witness both Play Dead and headliners Aerial Salad as they would have enjoyed them! Their loss! Even Play Dead stood at the front for Aerial Salad’s set in order to give them more support and they all appear like mates anyway!
Play Dead:
Joe Blair – vocals and guitar
Ollie Clarke – bass and backing vocals
Elias Brewin – drums
Play Dead proposed setlist:
‘All In My Head’ (from 2024 ‘Fly On The Wall’ EP)
‘Offy’ (from 2022 ‘Mug Cake’ EP)
‘Away From Here’ (from 2022 ‘Mug Cake’ EP)
‘Barbershop’ (from 2022 ‘Mug Cake’ EP)
‘Damien Hirst Stole My Art’ (from 2024 ‘Fly On The Wall’ EP)
‘Brockwell Park’ (from 2021 ‘Skint’ EP)
‘Thameslink’ (from 2024 ‘Fly On The Wall’ EP)
‘Pretty Little Thing’ (from 2024 ‘Fly On The Wall’ EP)
‘Hide’ (from 2021 ‘Skint’ EP)
‘Body Image’ (from 2024 ‘Fly On The Wall’ EP)
‘Shaun’ (from 2021 ‘Skint’ EP)
