POM POKO + PERSONAL TRAINER + THE ITCH – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 26.4.24
Tonight, we have a sold out double headliner show of Bella Union stablemates Personal Trainer and Pom Poko. A short UK tour has seen these two bands hailing from the Netherlands and Norway join forces for what has promised to be a fun filled night out. This evening concludes that tour, masterfully orchestrated by the most excellent local promoter Love Thy Neighbour and Melting Vinyl, as the bands reach the end of the line here at the Concorde 2, Brighton. Extra support on the tour has come from London based band The Itch.
The Itch – 19:15
Personal Trainer – 20:00
Pom Poko – 21:15
The Itch
First on this evening, we have The Itch, a band completely new to me, despite my best efforts to swat up a bit in advance all I could find was their newly released debut single ‘Ursula’ fresh out this month. Digging further, I found that lead vocalist Simon Tyrie and drummer Georgia Hardy were both of the band Regressive Left who have actually played Brighton in the past quite a few times, so they may not be new to some in the bustling audience tonight. I am looking forward to seeing what The Itch will offer.
Taking the crowd by surprise by coming on stage 5 minutes earlier than the scheduled start time of 19:20, the five piece band took up positions behind an array of instruments, I spotted we had quite a few electronics up front, an Ashun Sound Machine (ASM), along with a Novation and Korg, I do love a bit of synth and drum machine, so it looks like I was going to be in luck. And with that we were straight into a strong 32 minute set comprising of 7 songs. With no setlist or song introductions I hope I got the names right.
The first song ‘Planned Obsolescence’ was a lively number with plenty of beats and the lots dancing and bouncing about on stage, it was one to wake the crowd, a brilliant opener.
The second number of the night was ‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’, which is a real bass driven number. Half way through we got a surprise when Willem of Personal Trainer sporting his The Itch band t-shirt, stepped out and sang a verse of the song, prompting a big cheer.
Next up we had the recently released single ‘Ursula’. This started with some fine electronic beats and plenty of action from Korg, it is quite a brooding number with plenty of vocal harmonizing from the rest of the band, slowly building until Simon sang “We can bring down the government, we can put their heads on spikes”, then both guitars and the drums fully powered on, with Simon moving on to his own electronic set up, this really is a belter of a song, I can see why it has been put out as their first official release, go check it out on Bandcamp.
Ben on electronics was bouncing about a plenty throughout behind his Korg and cowbells.
Another bass driven song came next, ‘The Influencer’ a song about “trying to sell me the dream”; this one most definitely got me dancing along.
The cowbell was full on throughout ‘No More Sprechgesang’, before the slower, ‘Switch It Off’; again this one had a brilliant drum beat throughout, giving it a more dance-like vibe.
The final song of the set was ‘I Can’t Afford This’, ending with all of the band moving all over the place on stage ending with Simon holding his keyboard on the floor.
Not that I like to compare bands, if you are a fan of Depeche Mode, Talking Heads, Working Men’s Club, PVA, you will like The Itch. The blend of drum machines and synths work really well with live drums. You get tastes of 80s vibes pulling through in their musical style and Louis plays that bass mean and with power. Simon’s vocal style very much reminds me of Depeche Mode and Talking Heads. It was good to see a very animated band on stage putting everything in. I was pleasantly surprised by the band. The Itch are well worth catching, they received much praise from Personal Trainer and Pom Poko throughout the evening. They are next playing on the 29th April at The Shacklewell Arms, London, then the Wide Awake Festival, London on the 25th May, hopefully they will return to Brighton soon.
The Itch:
Simon Tyrie – vocals, electronics, guitar
Georgia Hardy – drums, additional vocals
Ben Hambro – electronics
Louis Haynes – bass guitar
Charlie Meyrick – guitar
The Itch setlist:
‘Planned Obsolescence’
‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’
‘Ursula’ (the new April 2024 single)
‘The Influencer’
‘No More Sprechgesang’
‘Switch It Off’
‘Can’t Afford This’
Personal Trainer
Having seen Personal Trainer last November at The Con Club in Lewes, (Review HERE) I was keen to catch them again when I spotted they were coming back to Sussex for this short double headline tour with Pom Poko. The band have had some personnel changes since I last saw them, former drummer Kick Kluving left the band in December to pursue his new project Parker Fans, therefore guitarist Leon Harms has now become their full time drummer and new band member Mart has entered the fray as the guitarist.
I am expecting this to be a fun filled set and I am not disappointed. The Dutch 7 piece band come on stage at 8pm, 10 minutes ahead of their scheduled time, bringing us a 12 song set lasting just under one hour. As anticipated a large chunk of the set is made up from songs from their 2022 album ‘Big Love Blanket’. Whilst the album versions are brilliant and you should go and check those out, the live experience is a whole other cuppa tea. This is a band that just loves being on stage, having fun, rubbing off one another, it feels like orchestrated chaos at times.
“Hey Brighton, how are we doing tonight?” questioned lead vocalist Willem to the crowd, giving us all a big “Hoooooooooooo” in response to the cheers. Clenching his fist in the air, the band fired up into the first song ‘Building’ and get the party started.
The juicy bass line of ‘Intangible’ kicked in; this is the band’s most recent single release. A great memorable song, punctuated with both plenty of trumpet and saxophone.
Willem strapped on his guitar “Thanks for coming we are Personal Trainer from the Netherlands” he told the crowd as he asked the sound tech for a lot more wedge in his monitor. Kilian Kayser of the percussion raced round to the other side of the stage with his tambourine dancing on a speaker as we were treated to ‘The Lazer’, a true crowd pleaser in which you could hear the packed out venue all bellowing the chorus “Thinking out loud, looking at you”. The song took an almost jazz like section in the middle with the band all going full at it with as many instruments they could get their hands or lips to.
With no break, the pace was brought down slightly as we moved smoothly into ‘Texas In The Kitchen’ from the ‘Big Love Album’ and the short but sweet ‘The Money Department’ also from the same album.
Next Willem introduced Ben from The Itch on to stage, “Ben is going to be playing the song ‘Round’ with us, which will be released in a bit…….. in about 36 mins” he jokingly added. Ben positioned himself between bass player Ruben and Mart the guitarist, jumping around and singing the chorus. ‘Round’ is another of the songs in the band’s arsenal which is fun, lively and catchy and always going to get some fine sing-along action going with the audience.
Another new song ‘New Bad Feeling’ followed, this one is a bit more of a heavier and moody perhaps in comparison with the band’s more bouncy numbers, but it does build and build nicely, you really feel Leon’s drumming and Franti’s guitar work here.
Next we had two more crowd pleasing anthems in the from ‘Big Love Blanket’ album, ‘Rug Busters’ and ‘Key Of Ego’. The playful vibe was back again, with Willem climbing onto a storage unit at the front of the stage and pulling over his head a speaker cover he had found tucked away, he then proceeded to sing the song under it before jumping back on stage and dancing around wearing it like a cape.
Taking a break from the music, Willem introduced some of the band members, first Abel Tuinstra on keyboard and trumpet, Franti Maresova on guitar; he then got to Kilian Kayser on percussion who he asked to tell us about the new game he has created for their trading cards. The band have created 11 trading cards based on each song, but there will be more to come, Killian jokingly said “Whilst there are 11 cards, the bad news is his game needs 4 of each card, so that’s 44 cards and they are for sale in packs of 5, so if you buy 9 packs, you’ll have 45 cards, but they probably won’t all have the ones you need, so you’ll have to buy double that and you have to be quick as there isn’t much stock because it’s the last show and they were on a vista print deal so they only made 250”. The crowd laughed more and more as he dug himself a deeper hole. He also mentioned their new record ‘The Feeling’ was out and on the merch stall; it is their first release with the local legendary record label Bella Union with whom they signed with very recently.
After the lively antics of ‘Key Of Ego’, the trumpet and sax were back out for the mellow ‘Still Willing’, this was quite a departure from the sound of the rest of the show, a very calm and heartfelt song.
More introductions followed with Leon Harms on the drums, Leon was looking very cool in a t-shirt that seemed to glow in the light, and I spent a lot of time during the show trying to make out what it actually said to no avail. Finally both Ruben van Weegberg on bass guitar, and Mart on guitar and saxophone were given their chance to say hello, Willem joked “That is Dutch for hello”.
The final two songs came with another crowd favourite ‘Milk’, during which Kilian took himself over to a tall speaker stack with his tambourine in which precariously balanced on top of, prompting a nervous look from the mixing desk.
The final song of the set was ‘Babyyolifantjes’, a slower number that has featured in their sets since 2022, but never been put on a physical release until this week’s new 12” record release.
It was a great, fun, lively set from the band; they are no strangers to Brighton and know how to put on a performance and then some. I felt if anything they were a little more subdued tonight, possibly down to tiredness from the tour, possibly on purpose as we still have Pom Poko to come. But I do feel they have matured and grown musically since I saw them last year. The whole band are all so in sync with each other, whilst they each go off on tangents, it all works and feels very organic, they are a pure joy to watch! Most definitely a band you should go and see live and experience something new. Now they are with Brighton based Bella Union, let’s hope they come and play here even more often.
Now the tour is over, the band are next on a run of festivals in Europe and surely selling more trading cards, I did treat myself to two packs, Willem kindly signed one for me, I do have a spare ‘Texas In The Kitchen’ card if anyone wants to swap!
Personal Trainer:
Willem Smit – vocals
Franti Maresova – guitar
Leon Harms – drums
Abel Tuinstra – keyboards
Kilian Kayser – percussion
Ruben van Weegberg – bass guitar
Mart – guitar
Personal Trainer setlist:
‘Buildings’
‘Intangible’ (a 2024 single)
‘The Lazer’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album & limited 7” single of the same name)
‘Texas In The Kitchen’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘The Money Department’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘Round‘ (unreleased)
‘New Bad Feeling’ (unreleased)
‘Rug Busters’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘Key Of Ego’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘Still Willing’
‘Milk’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘Babyyolifantjes’ (Released this month on a special 2 track single)
Pom Poko
The final band for this evening’s musical extravaganza comes in the form of the Norwegian four piece Pom Poko. I have to be honest, I’ve not heard much of their music in the run up to this show as I had primarily come to see Personal Trainer, so I was not entirely sure what to expect. I often find it’s almost best to sometimes come to a gig blind, and then get swept away by something new and exciting. My gut feeling as the crowd had reshuffled somewhat with the many Pom Poko fans moving to the front was this surprise was going to be a good one.
Coming promptly on stage at 21:15, we were treated to a fast paced frantic one hour set of 14 songs no less. With no grand entrances, we were straight out of the gates with a new song ‘Growing Story’ which like a good chunk of this evening’s set is taken from their forthcoming album ‘Champion’. Pom Poko in contrast to Personal Trainer blew me away, they sure were loud and nothing like I had expected them to be in my mind.
‘My Candidacy’ came next, vocalist Ranghild Fangel Jamtveit’s amazing vocals often contrasting with the heavy guitars. Both Jonas Krøvel‘s bass and Martin Miguel Almagro Tonne’s guitar, truly generate some frantic energy for sure.
I am not entirely sure how to describe the band’s music, there certainly is that post punk vibe in part and the pace can be fast and frantic for the best part, but the sharp stops and starts for Ranghilds high vocal breaks make Pom Poko a band not to be pigeon holed, they have a very unique and fresh sound indeed.
Next we had ‘My Blood’ from the 2019 album ‘Birthday’ and ‘Never Saw It Coming’ from the forthcoming 2024 album ‘Champion’, both powerful fast paced numbers.
The pace was brought down with ‘Champion’ the lead song taken from their forthcoming album of the same name. It is a beautiful tune with Ola Djupvik merely dusting his drums during this track rather than pounding them as had been the case with the songs so far. Coupling this with Ranghild’s softer vocals magically delivered in a heartfelt manner, made this song really stand out for me.
That calm interlude was not to last, as ‘Like A Lady’ from the 2021 album ‘Cheater’ ramped the energy level right back up, often Ranghild’s stage theatrics, the swaying, the grinning, shaking of the arms reminded me a little of John Penny, the frontman of Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and his stage presence, it really ignites and connects with the crowd, making you really feel like the energy is being channeled right into your soul.
The cowbell was out for a good solid banging for ‘Follow The Lights’ as Ranghild got herself onto the unit in front of the stage showing it no mercy. Two more high energy numbers came with ‘Go’, another new one from the forthcoming ‘Champion’ album and then ‘Cheater’ from the 2021 album of the same name.
Martin now spoke to the audience saying it had been “a lovely tour and it was the last night with Personal Trainer, but maybe we have not seen the last of them” perhaps hinting something special was yet to come. ‘Danger Baby’ from the 2021 album ‘Cheater’ came next, one in which Martin asked for the crowd to help out by singing ‘Danger Baby’ with him, which we of course all did.
The 2019 single ‘Leg Day’ came next, followed by ‘My Family’, another from the new ‘Champion’ album and lastly ‘Crazy Energy Night’ from the 2019 album ‘Birthday’, all examples of just how tight the band are with each other. It is hard to not forget there are only 4 of them on stage and only 3 instruments such is the noise and energy produced with such intensity.
Ranghild said they were all going home after tonight, but hopefully they will be back when their album is released in August. Lulling us into a sense that it was all over, Jonas started pulsing his bass while they all started to dance around, then out of the blue all 7 members of Personal Trainer filed on in a line, and took up instruments in which they all played the most excellent and insane ‘If U Want Me 2 Stay’. What an end to the show and the tour, a full on melee of sound and fun, pausing briefly for more that jazz style craziness, Ranghild swaying and powering up into jumps for a full on explosive finish.
What can I say, Pom Poko really were bloody awesome, fun, energetic, tight and loud. Their album ‘Champion’ is coming out this August on Bella Union, well worth the pre-order I’d suggest if their merch stall was anything to go by. Sadly most things had sold out by the time I got to the table; I shan’t make that mistake with the new album. First single from the album ‘Champion’, to be released on August 16th via Bella Union.
Pom Poko:
Ranghild Fangel Jamtveit – vocals
Ola Djupvik – drums
Jonas Krøvel – bass
Martin Miguel Almagro Tonne – guitar
Pom Poko setlist:
‘Growing Story’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Champion’ album)
‘My Candidacy’ (from 2021 ‘Cheater’ album)
‘My Blood’ (from 2019 ‘Birthday’ album)
‘Never Saw It Coming’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Champion’ album)
‘Champion’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Champion’ album)
‘Like A Lady’ (from 2021 ‘Cheater’ album)
‘Follow The Lights’ (from 2019 ‘Birthday’ album)
‘Go’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Champion’ album)
‘Cheater’ (from 2021 ‘Cheater’ album)
‘Danger Baby’ (from 2021 ‘Cheater’ album)
‘Leg Day’ (a 2019 single)
‘My Family’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Champion’ album)
‘Crazy Energy Night’ (from 2019 ‘Birthday’ album)
‘If U Want Me 2 Stay’ (from 2019 ‘Birthday’ album) performed with Personal Trainer
