SOFT PLAY + PANIC SHACK – BRIGHTON DOME 15.10.24
It’s fair to say that Laurie Vincent and Isaac Holman’s legs turned to heavy jelly back on 1st August when their SOFT PLAY album ‘Heavy Jelly’ went crashing into the UK Album Charts at No.3. They commented thus on social media: “Number 3 in the UK charts. Our highest position ever and the most records we’ve ever sold in the first week by a long shot. The fact that our band is even in the same conversation as some of these artists is insane. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who’s bought our album and supported us. We really f*cking appreciate it”.
It’s certainly been a rebirth for the British punk duo who went on hiatus after finding great success under their previous SLAVES moniker, who formed in Royal Tunbridge Wells in 2012 and released a trio of Top 10 UK albums: Mercury Prize nominated ‘Are You Satisfied?’ (2015), ‘Take Control’ (2016), and ‘Acts Of Fear And Love’ (2018). By the time December 2022 came around, the duo explained that “The name ‘Slaves’ is an issue [and] doesn’t represent who we are as people or what our music stands for any longer.”
From the very beginning the duo quickly established themselves as an influential force in the British rock landscape. Their distinctive, unapologetic approach to the genre and kinetic live performances have fortified the band’s avid global fanbase, earning them widespread critical acclaim and coveted festival slots. Along the way, they’ve won the hearts of The Streets’ Mike Skinner, the Beastie Boys Mike D, won multiple NME Awards, had Skepta join them on stage at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, and toured with Kasabian, Jamie T, Wolf Alice and The Prodigy, where we caught up with SOFT PLAY at the Brighton Centre last November – Review HERE.
Interestingly, it appears that SOFT PLAY’s last concert was on Southsea Common, Portsmouth as part of the ‘Victorious Festival’ and we were there to review it – Read our account of that and the other acts on the bill HERE.
Tonight, SOFT PLAY are back at it and have begun their first headline tour in six years! The ‘Heavy Jelly’ tour is set to ignite venues across the country, beginning this evening at Brighton Dome after which they will be playing a further 11 dates, culminating with a very special Halloween show at the O2 Academy Brixton – with fancy dress very much encouraged.
First up though, are the special guests Panic Shack who are playing all of the tour dates. The band consists of Sarah Harvey (lead vocals), Meg Fretwell (guitar and bv’s), Romi Lawrence (guitar and bv’s) and Emily Smith (bass) along with the assistance of Nick Doherty-Williams (drums)
Cardiff based Panic Shack formed back in 2018 and are very much a DIY outfit and they come armed with brash, off-kilter songs with witty lyrics and killer hooks. They have steadily been building an army of loyal fans and as a result this Welsh punk quintet have crashed through the UK music scene with a tidal wave of ear-crunching noise. Here is a band that is real fun and always a joy to witness, with their raw energy shows becoming slicker the more times I see them.
They have thus far sadly only released one standalone single, ‘Meal Deal’ as well as one EP titled ‘Baby Shack’, but the EP does contain six solid tunes including earlier released singles. I really do think it is time for them to drop an album this year. For me, the idea of expanding the EP onto side two of an album and then releasing new tunes on side one would be the way forward! They could easily do it, as they played us a handful of as-yet unreleased tunes the last time I witnessed them up close and personal. These being ‘Tit School’, ‘ParTy SD’, ‘Jelly Baby’, ‘Do Something’ and ‘Cash Piggy’.
This evening at Brighton Dome we are rewarded with a nine tune set lasting from 8pm to 8:28pm. As always, the four women are lined up in a row at the front and their drummer is to the rear. It seems a tad strange as they are relatively spaced out across the front, having always seen them playing compact venues in the past. Even their ‘Latitude’ festival performance last year was in a compact tent in the woods!
Emily kicks the music off on her seriously cool looking bass which has a really decent rumbly sound. The opener being ‘I Don’t Really Like It’, the first of five cuts from their 2022 ‘Baby Shack’ EP. This tune is of varying speeds throughout and there’s some enjoyable Fender guitar interplay as well. One tune down and the packed crowd are very receptive, which is encouraging. The drummer counts down “1-2, 1-2, 1-2-3-4” and they are away with the faster unreleased ‘Tit School’, after which Sarah lets us know “that one’s about big tits!”. She had been mockingly jumping around in a way that emphasised said body parts during the song, just in case we hadn’t got the message.
There’s another newbie next which is called ‘Pockets’ according to their setlist. This is another speedy tune and one in which the Ramones would have been very proud to have heard! Get it on an album!! This goes down very well and Sarah informs us that “This one’s about babies” in reference to ‘Baby’ from their ‘Baby Shack’ EP. It has the earworm repeated chorus of “I don’t wanna hold your baby” and the shouty delivery of this reminded me of Brighton’s very own Lambrini Girls, who incidentally have just announced their debut album will be dropping on 10th January in various coloured vinyl options….hint hint Panic Shack!
Emily then said “Thank you everybody, we’ve come from Cardiff in Wales today” which was greeted by cheers from the punters. A guy in the audience behind me then pipes up, and asks them what meal-deal they would have. To which Emily said that she knew what Meg would have. This was a brief light-hearted interlude that nicely linked into their 2022 ‘Meal Deal’ single which certainly felt faster than the released version. Each time I see Panic Shack they seem to get tighter and tighter and this tune is no exception, especially on the bass and drums break. After this Meg informed us that it was “Time to dance” and the jarring beat of ‘Jiu Jits You’ (from the ‘Baby Shack’ EP) kicked in. The false ending of this caught out many new fans who applauded in the silence in the tune.
The unreleased ‘Do Something’ came next and was visually impressive as the trio of Romi, Meg and Emily all of a sudden hit the deck and played their guitars and bass with their legs in the air. Their penultimate track was ‘The Ick’ which Sarah informs us is about everything someone does makes you sick. The standout quote from the tune being “nail in the coffin”. I’d suggest that this was their only slightly weaker tune from the set. I would have much preferred the only missing track from their EP, ‘Mannequin Man’ with its robot dance, or even any of the other unreleased tunes such as ‘ParTy SD’, ‘Jelly Baby’ or especially ‘Cash Piggy’. There was an epic drum roll intro and then the punk beat kicked in for their closing choice, ‘Who’s Got My Lighter?’ which benefits from more shouty vocals and this reminded me of the lines “We’re a happy family we’re a happy family we’re a happy family me mom and daddy” by the Ramones. This too had a false ending, but on conclusion, the four women simultaneously all hit the deck! As far as performances go, Panic Shack had f*cking nailed it!!!!
Panic Shack:
Sarah Harvey – lead vocals
Meg Fretwell – guitar and bv’s
Romi Lawrence – guitar and bv’s
Emily Smith – bass
Nick Doherty-Williams – drums
Panic Shack setlist:
‘I Don’t Really Like It’ (from 2022 ‘Baby Shack’ EP)
‘Tit School’ (unreleased)
‘Pockets’ (unreleased)
‘Baby’ (from 2022 ‘Baby Shack’ EP)
‘Meal Deal’ (a 2022 single)
‘Jiu Jits You’ (from 2022 ‘Baby Shack’ EP)
‘Do Something’ (unreleased)
‘The Ick’ (from 2022 ‘Baby Shack’ EP)
‘Who’s Got My Lighter?’ (from 2022 ‘Baby Shack’ EP)
Having seriously warmed up the punters, it was now time for SOFT PLAY to perform to a sold out house! Their set would last 72 minutes and run from 9:05pm until closure at 10:17pm and consist of 19 tracks. Bassist and guitarist Laurie Vincent comes bounding onto the stage and whizzes across to the mic on stage left (our right) and Isaac Holman takes up his position almost in front of me (stage right) our left. Their unusual selection of intro song plays out, this being the well known hymn ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ which was written back in 1848 by Irish woman Cecil Frances Alexander. As always, their selection of equipment is minimal, with Laurie flitting between a bass and several guitars as well as a mandolin on one tune, and Isaac (who adopts a standing position throughout) has one large drum, one smaller drum, two cymbals, an attached tambourine and an attached cowbell, and that’s all they need to make their epic sound! They are just a duo and as we are informed during the performance, this was because when they started, no-one else wanted to join their band and so as an act of defiance the duo showed those losers what they are missing out on!
They fly into a handful of songs from their new ‘Heavy Jelly’ album, these being ‘All Things’, ‘Mirror Muscles’, ‘Isaac Is Typing…’ (which I believe has jumped up the setlist from fourth to last tune), ‘Bin Juice Disaster’ and ‘Act Violently’. During this segment their tops are relinquished, thus revealing a whole plethora tattoos (especially Laurie) and audience are addressed and the lads introduce themselves “We’re a boy band from the Garden of England” and “Welcome to the ‘Heavy Jelly’ tour, thank you for being here” and added “How are you up there” (referring to the folk up in the balconies), and adding “how are you down there”. The music thus far has featured guttural screams, and shouty and rap style vocals, the beats are rockin’ and punky and IDLES spring to mind. The audience are seriously in the zone and for the first time ever at this venue (as far as I remember) the actual floor I’m standing on near the very front is physically moving. I initially thought that I was wobbling, but on looking down I can see the arched front section of the floor is actually moving and the floor it joins up to is not. I suspect that this is where the seats disappear to, they are hidden beneath us – clever stuff!
The stage lighting is set to flashing white and there’s initially just the black curtain to the rear of the stage to offset this. This curtain, however, later in the set falls to the ground to reveal a take on their album cover with green writing atop of an orange background. The wording however is altered from “SOFT PLAY” to “SOFT C*NTS”. The songs fly by and Laurie keeps the technicians busy as he swaps between his bass and glam rock/metal silver guitar (and others). Isaac has a wander and comes to the side of the stage above my head. Before we know it, the lads are both in the crowd and many phones are raised in order to capture the up-close-and-personal moments. This was for tune number six ‘F*ck The Hi-Hat’ from 2016’s ‘Take Control’ Slaves album, and this which ranks a ten on the crowd participation chart and was for me the best track thus far.
Their energetic punk tunes are akin to the likes of Royal Blood and the crowd really enjoyed their music and very energetic set. They would be a great choice to again headline the Rebellion punk festival in Blackpool, where they last appeared back in 2017. Long overdue methinks! Their punk fuelled ‘Sockets’ which is found on 2015’s ‘Are You Satisfied?’ Slaves album is up next and Isaac informs us that it’s his little girl’s first ever gig, she’s up in the balcony. I wonder what she makes of the backing curtain?
‘Spit It Out’ from 2016’s ‘Take Control’ Slaves album is delivered next and their sound has moved into full on rock territory, which got the punters bouncing along nicely, although personally I much prefer the straightforward punk tinged material. I’m rewarded by last year’s single ‘Punk’s Dead’ which is also on the new album. After this we are informed that ‘Worms On Tarmac’ (from ‘Heavy Jelly’) was to be played next and that this was the first time they have ever performed it to a live audience. It’s here that the sound engineer adjusts Laurie’s microphone so that he sounds like a cartoon worm.
Immediately after this, things went seriously leftfield as the lads informed us that Jedward were in the house. Yes, as in those 32 year old Dublin born twins John and Edward Grimes. Thank God they weren’t up on stage, I thought to myself!
The rap influenced ‘Working Title’ (that’s its name) from the new LP was next and Isaac vacated the drums and backing drums were added as he came into the crowd again. Once back on stage, we were asked whether we liked the John Wick quadruple film set. They then entered Sham 69 territory with their homage tune ‘John Wick’ from their latest release. I must say that this, for me, was one of their set highlights. However, the sole cut from 2019’s ‘The Velvet Ditch’ Slaves EP was up next in the form of ‘It Makes Me Sick’ and this was entrenched in hardcore punk territory and Discharge sprang to mind. For me, this was their best offering of the night!
By far their shortest track of the evening was their 15 second ‘Girl Fight’ which dates back to 2012 and is found on their ‘Sugar Coated Bitter Truth’ Slaves album. Isaac tells us that it was written about a fight between two girls. He then locates the aforementioned Jedward and goes and sits in the stalls immediately in between them! Laurie, not wanting to be left out, makes a beeline for the same area and whilst still playing his guitar he launches himself into their laps. One of the twins then lifts Laurie upside down. It’s all gone surreal. I mean I couldn’t have even dreamt this even after eating cheese before bed! Meanwhile, a circle pit opens up in the centre of the stalls and a guy proceeds to do some impressive backflips, which receive the seal of approval from the musical duo….SOFT PLAY that is, not those other blokes!
Clearly, things had to be calmed down a tad, cue mandolin! Yep, really! ‘Everything And Nothing’ being the selection and obviously by far the least frantic number on the night. After this, some wag in the crowd doesn’t shout out “SOFT PLAY, we love you!”, but “We love you Jedward!”. Immediately many are in on the joke and the sudden cult hero status of the Irish duo was extended with many now singing “We love you Jedward, we do!”. Am I awake?
Back in the room and the heavy rap ‘One More Day Won’t Hurt’, found on ‘The Velvet Ditch’ Slaves EP from 2019 was up next. After which we are informed that the next track is “about therapy”, it’s another cut from the new LP, this being ‘The Mushroom And The Swan’ which has an almost psychobilly drum beat with the big drum and smaller one hit alternatively and accompanying foot shuffling action. The sound engineer had his orders again and this time around both microphones were altered, as in trippin’ out on magic mushrooms I guess.
Their penultimate selection was ‘Beauty Quest’ (from 2012’s ‘Sugar Coated Bitter Truth’ Slaves album), but there was a false start in this and they had to stop. They then had a debate whether to start again from the top or just carry on where they left off. Anyhow, this didn’t really matter, but it felt like the longest tune of the set, although the recorded version runs under 4 minutes. They signed off with 2015’s ‘The Hunter’ (from ‘Are You Satisfied?’) which Isaac encouraged the audience to sing and they dutifully filled in the lines for him. Then at 10:17pm Isaac launched his two drumsticks into the crowd and they were done. No fake encores with this lot. It’s fair to say that the crowd were mightily impressed and I can’t imagine anyone leaving the venue and being disappointed.
Soft Play:
Isaac Holman – lead vocals, drums
Laurie Vincent – vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin
Soft Play (presumed) setlist:
(Intro) ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ (Cecil Frances Alexander, 1848)
‘All Things’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘Mirror Muscles’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘Isaac Is Typing…’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘Bin Juice Disaster’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘Act Violently’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘F*ck The Hi-Hat’ (from 2016 ‘Take Control’ Slaves album)
‘Sockets’ (from 2015 ‘Are You Satisfied?’ Slaves album)
‘Spit It Out’ (from 2016 ‘Take Control’ Slaves album)
‘Punk’s Dead’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘Worms On Tarmac’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘Working Title’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘John Wick’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘It Makes Me Sick’ (from 2019 ‘The Velvet Ditch’ Slaves EP)
‘Girl Fight’ (from 2012 ‘Sugar Coated Bitter Truth’ Slaves album)
‘Everything And Nothing’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘One More Day Won’t Hurt’ (from 2019 ‘The Velvet Ditch’ Slaves EP)
‘The Mushroom And The Swan’ (from 2024 ‘Heavy Jelly’ album)
‘Beauty Quest’ (from 2012 ‘Sugar Coated Bitter Truth’ Slaves album)
‘The Hunter’ (from 2015 ‘Are You Satisfied?’ Slaves album)
