PERSONAL TRAINER + PLANTOID + OUR GIRL – STUDIO THEATRE, BRIGHTON DOME 13.2.25
Tonight we celebrate the first of a series of record label events taking place at the recently refurbished and re-opened Dome Studio Theatre venue. And the record label on showcase this evening is Brighton’s very own Bella Union. Originally set up in 1997 by Cocteau Twins members Simon Raymonde & Robin Guthrie, it is now fully run by Simon. And wow, what a roster of bands does it have! Aside from tonight’s stellar line up they also have in their ranks Father John Misty, Beach House, Mercury Rev, Warmduscher, Pom Poko and Penelope Isles, that’s me just naming a few! This evening is the first of two Bella Union nights. We have been promised, Our Girl, Plantoid and a secret headliner who you will hear more about below.
A big heads up should be given to the venue, the Dome Studio is a fantastic intimate Studio Theatre above the Corn Exchange, it has a 350 person standing capacity and is a breath of fresh air. I can’t remember when I last went to such a clean, well laid out venue, lots of very helpful staff guiding us punters about, checking tickets, giving wristbands, all so polite and friendly, a beautiful long bar, well placed band merchandise stalls, I really hope the venue gets used more for smaller gigs like tonight’s, I could see it working really well for something like ‘The Great Escape’ festival.
First up this evening, we have Our Girl, a three piece London based band who originally formed here in Brighton back in 2014. They are made up of Laruen Wilson on drums, Josh Tyler on bass and Soph Nathan on guitar and vocals. They are a band I’ve been wanting to catch for a while now, particularly after hearing them aplenty on Radio BBC6 Music. I was kicking myself having missed out on the Resident instore gig last year for the release of their 2024 album ‘The Good Kind’ and to be honest they were the main reason why I wanted to be here this evening. One thing that had been bugging me was; where had I seen vocalist Soph before? It only dawned on me tonight she is also in The Big Moon, please slap me for not knowing and to think I say I know my music! Talking of The Big Moon, tonight’s gig had two extra members on stage, one being Fern Ford, the drummer from The Big Moon, tonight she was on keys and percussion. The band also had an additional guitarist, who I believe was Dan Rumsey. Now the band are no strangers to playing Brighton, having played at numerous venues here over the years, one of their first ever gigs was actually at The Hope & Ruin way back in 2014.
At 7:30pm the band came on stage and went straight in with a musically strong opener ‘It’ll Be Fine’ from the 2024 album ‘The Good Kind’, it was a beautiful, soft tune, ever so calming, a brilliant song, but not a lively opener which is what you’d expect from most bands, but it brought us into the occasion.
The guitars ramped up a little more for ‘In My Head’ a song from their 2018 album ‘Stranger Today’, Drummer Laruen echoed Soph’s vocals throughout this one adding real depth, the song built to a solid guitar frenzy at the end.
Two more from ‘The Good Kind’ came next ‘Something Exciting’ and ‘Relief’ with Soph checking in on the crowd between the two whilst changing guitars. Lauren joked that “they were lost in the mist”, referencing the stage smoke machine, something that seemed to be in overdrive for the whole evening and to be honest was a bit annoying as it meant I rarely could see band members on the far side of the stage. ‘Relief’ was another spellbinding number, those soft crashes of the drums, gorgeous bass line and both guitars building and building once more.
‘I Really Like It’ followed, another from their first album, much like their other songs, you are taken on a magical journey of Soph’s calming vocals. The steady drum and bass track which you can’t help move to, punctuated with bursts of guitar, then calm again. Soph joked that she had thought she “had done something wrong during the song as everyone looked at her”; I wouldn’t have known to be honest if she hadn’t said so.
The final two songs were ‘What You Told Me’ and ‘Something About Me Being A Woman’, the latter being the one that has got plenty of radio airplay. I have to say it has been one of my favourite tunes of recent, it’s a bloody great song, so strong lyrically, and musically, what a way to end the set.
Soph said they “love playing Brighton as it’s where they started and we were all nice” and I couldn’t agree more. The crowd gave a rousing applause at the end of each song, and you could feel just how intently absorbed the punters were whilst the band played each song, a very respectful audience during this set, no talking, just pure appreciation for such a fine group of talented musicians. They really are a band that can capture and replicate exactly what they put out on record in a live setting. They reminded me of Goat Girl in terms of style of music; it was heartfelt, warm, uplifting and calming. I look forward to catching them when they play Brighton again in April as part of the ‘Homegrown Festival’ – Tickets are available HERE.
Our Girl:
Soph Nathan – vocals & guitar
Josh Tyler – bass
Lauren Wilson – drums
Dan Rumsey – guitar
Fern Ford – keys & percussion
Our Girl Setlist:
‘It’ll Be Fine’ (from 2024 ‘The Good Kind’ album)
‘In My Head’ (from 2018 ‘Stranger Today’ album)
‘Something Exciting’ (from 2024 ‘The Good Kind’ album)
‘Relief’ (from 2024 ‘The Good Kind’ album)
‘I Really Like It’ (from 2018 ‘Stranger Today’ album)
‘What You Told Me’ (from 2024 ‘The Good Kind’ album)
‘Something About Me Being A Woman’ (from 2024 ‘The Good Kind’ album)
Plantoid are a Brighton based four piece band made up of Chloe Spence on vocals and guitar, Tom Coyne on guitar, Louis Bradshaw on drums and Matt Todd on bass guitar, tonight they are also joined by their producer Nathan Ridley on percussion. Their music style is unique in that it is a fusion of prog rock, jazz and psych. They have been on the scene a number of years now and I am pretty sure have played most venues in Brighton. I thought I’d not seen them before, but looking back through old photos and videos, I find I did indeed catch them at the ‘234 Fest’ at the Green Door Store way back in 2023 so am looking forward to having my memory refreshed this evening.
After a fast and frantic turnaround and set up on the busy stage, at 8:33pm with the band knowing the clock was already ticking, they fired up into their single ‘Demons’. It was a very lively start indeed, Tom’s guitar bringing some most gratifying tones, Louis fast but heavy drumming and Chloe strong vocals took us on a full on psych jazz journey.
The pace slowed for a short spell with ‘Wander/Wonder’, a calmer song with a real jazz vibe going, a fairly long song running at around 6 minutes on the album, the first half being very calm before erupting in the second half with Nathan who was poised like a coiled spring taking to his percussion station in a lively manner.
The band kept the music continuous throughout the bulk of the set, rarely breaking, meaning we had gone into ‘Insomniac’ before I even realised it. A magnificent song, jumping from slow to fast with again a real prog rock vibe. Musically there is so much going on, it was a real treat to watch and hear, Tom often bobbing and weaving with his guitar solos, outstanding indeed.
Whilst the band are described as experimental, there is no shying away from just how tight and accomplished they all are, the fluidity of their play and movements was sublime, Chloe and Tom often watching each other seemingly reading each other’s minds. The remainder of the 35 minute set comprised of four more songs, well I think it did, with no visible setlist to check and continuous play of the band, there may well have been more.
We were treated to two new songs though, one of which was referred to as ‘Dozy’ by Chloe, but I spotted was titled ‘Dozer’ on Chloe’s lyric sheet, either way what a song that was, fast and frantic, Chloe’s soaring vocals and some wicked guitar riffs, one that got the heart racing. After which Tom commented on the crazy steam/smoke that was flooding the stage (that bloody smoke machine again). The other new song came at the very end, you could see time was running out, but the band were keen to showcase it for the very first time. The song’s name was not mentioned, but another lyric sheet on the floor looked like it might be called ‘Pleasure’, and if that was the title it most certainly was a pleasure to hear.
The crowd utterly loved the set, we had solid bass lines from Matt , and Nathan was ever jumping and dancing about with vigour and excitement. Louis demonstrated a true powerhouse masterclass with the drums, Tom was at one with his guitar, boy o boy did he work it and last but not least Chloe with her stage presence, powerful vocals and mega guitar work, Plantoid really have the wind behind their sails. I hope to catch them again soon and pick up their album. Plantoid next play Brighton on the 11th June at The Prince Albert – Purchase your tickets HERE.
Plantoid:
Tom Coyne – lead guitar
Chloe Spence – rhythm guitar & vocals
Louis Bradshaw – drums
Nathan Ridley – percussion
Matt Todd – bass
Plantoid setlist:
‘Demons’ (a 2019 single)
‘Wander/Wonder’ (from 2024 ‘Terrapath’ album)
‘Insomniac (Don’t Worry)’ (from 2024 ‘Terrapath’ album)
‘Unknown song?’
‘Dozer’ (new unreleased song)
‘Modulator’ (from 2024 ‘Terrapath’ album)
‘Pleasure’? (new unreleased song)
And onto our secret headliners for this evening, fair play to the band, Bella Union and the Dome keeping it quiet right up until the evening beforehand. I must admit I had a big hunch all along that it may well be Personal Trainer with their UK tour starting on Friday which would have meant coming over the UK ready and having personally seen the band play in Brighton twice last year I was secretly hoping it would be them.
As the band came on stage at 9:35pm to some soft instrumental synth care of Abel Tinstra, they were all sporting the new Bella Union caps, ones that Simon Raymonde had given to guitarist Franti Maresova during the set-up, a cap that lead vocalist Willem would proceed to take on and off, put on backwards and forwards throughout the set in his inimitable style.
After a fairly calm first song of ‘Upper Ferntree Gully’ from their most recent album ‘Still Willing’, it felt like we were being broken in gently to the Personal Trainer experience, which more often than not can get quite crazy.
Next came three more bangers and crowd favourite from the same album, ‘I Can Be Your Personal Trainer’ Intangible’ and ‘Round’, all equally fun, lively and ones to dance to, to which Willem did himself at front and centre stage. Willem thanked the crowd, letting us know this was now the first night of their UK tour, and it was a little bit different as a their percussionist Kilian Kayser was ill so has not come on the tour, thus they will be playing with just six of the them and he hoped that will be okay for us. ‘Round’ is probably one of my favourite songs from the band, incredibly catchy and bouncy.
Next came a brand new song called ‘Tempo’, a very enjoyable number it was too. I think Abel had his work cut out whilst playing his keyboard, but also keeping the cowbell and percussion going.
Following another plume of smoke smothering the stage, it was back to a couple more songs from the ‘Still Willing’ album. Frustratingly a couple moved next to me at this point and endlessly talked loudly through the next few songs. Why come to a gig standing right at the front and chat, it’s so disrespectful to the band and rest of the audience. Thankfully they eventually quietened down. The songs were ‘What Am I Supposed To Say About The People And Their Ways’ and ‘You Better Start Scrubbing’. Mart Boumans was having a whale of a time on his guitar throughout the latter.
Next was a song called ‘Frank’ according to the setlist, I was not familiar with this one, possibly a new one or something that remains unreleased. It was a slow, very mellow song, with a slow but sure drum beat from Leon Harms, gentle bass line from Ruben and easy guitars from Franti and Mart.
Willem’s stance went from chilled to lively once more as lovely guitar riffs and spooky synth kicked in for ‘1,000,000’, a live set staple for the band and not one that is on either of their albums.
As Willem suggested “We are going to play you a different one if that’s okay”, the band played ‘Cyan’ another from the album ‘Still Willing’, this is a fab song, very upbeat and breezy. Mart took up the saxophone, Franti bellowing out backing vocals, Willem singing in a sometime rap style in parts of the song, it’s a fab jazzy funky number.
Picking up his acoustic guitar, “We are going to try another new song” Willem informed us, it was called ‘Burrows’. This one was again a nice gentle song, it had piano, it had whistling, it had subdued lighting, and it felt quite Beatles like to me, quite different from the usual fun Personal Trainer songs.
The end was nearing, but there was still time for two classics from the band’s first album ‘Big Love Blanket’ to get played, they were ‘Rug Busters’ and ‘Keys Of Ego’, two lively dance numbers. Willem reminded us all that they had an “embarrassing amount of merchandise on the stall to sell so come and visit and that they are back in Brighton in 2 weeks’ time at Chalk, so it’s nice to start and end here”.
The final song of the evening in this very packed 14 song, one hour set was ‘Still Willing’ a beautiful slow, sax drenched tune, a calm one to send us out into the cold winter night.
I did feel it was all kept under control this evening, normally the stage antics get wacky and wild, perhaps it was setting and occasion, perhaps it’s that the setlist favours last year’s album so omissions of those livelier early songs is felt, plus a lot of the crowd would have bought a ticket not knowing who the headliner actually was, missing the lively band member Kilian was probably a first and factor too. But, as ever, seeing Personal Trainer live is a real treat for me, they are all fine musicians, well-crafted songs, and a most excellent addition to the Bella Union stable, if you don’t believe me get yourself to Chalk on the 1st March – Tickets HERE.
Personal Trainer:
Willem Smit – vocals
Franti Maresova – guitar
Leon Harms – drums
Abel Tuinstra – keyboards
Ruben van Weegberg – bass guitar
Mart Boumans – guitar & saxophone
Personal Trainer setlist:
‘Upper Ferntree Gully’ (from 2024 ‘Still Willing’ album)
‘I Can Be Your Personal Trainer’ (from 2024 ‘Still Willing’ album)
‘Intangible’ (from 2024 ‘Still Willing’ album)
‘Round’ (from 2024 ‘Still Willing’ album)
‘Tempo’ (unreleased)
‘What Am I Supposed To Say About The People And Their Ways’ (from 2024 ‘Still Willing’ album)
‘You Better Start Scrubbing’ (from 2024 ‘Still Willing’ album)
‘Frank’ (unreleased)
‘1,000,000’ (from 2023 ‘Personal Trainer Live At Katzwijm’ mini-album)
‘Cyan’ (from 2024 ‘Still Willing’ album)
‘Burrows’ (unreleased)
‘Rug Busters’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘Key Of Ego’ (from 2022 ‘Big Love Blanket’ album)
‘Still Willing’ (from 2024 ‘Still Willing’ album)
Find out more about Personal Trainer HERE.
