The Coathangers + Salt the Snail + Piss Kitti
Arts Club, Seel St, Liverpool
Tuesday 30th April 2019
I only discovered The Coathangers fairly recently. I received a press release about their single Step Back.
It’s pretty awesome, so I had a listen to a few of their other songs:
Watch Your Back is another top tune.
as is “Down Down” so I decided to listen to the current album “The Devil You Know”. I was sold!
I checked for tour dates, but at that time they were all in the USA – I mean they are good and all, but I don’t think my budget would stretch to flying to the USA for a gig!
Touring bands have a tendency to to skip Liverpool and play Manchester instead. I personally quite enjoy going to gigs in Manchester, change of scene and all that, but nothing kills the post-gig buzz like standing on the platform at Victoria for an hour because your train has been cancelled.
So when they announced a UK tour, I was doubly-happy that a) they were playing the UK, and b) thanks to Revo at EVOL there was a date in Liverpool!
Friends who went to the Manchester gig the night before, came back with glowing reports, so on the day my excitement levels went up a notch.
The evening started with Piss Kitti.
Unusually, I can’t find a Facebook Page for the band so I know very little about them, but this fan video from youtube will give you an idea what they are like.
Loud, Raw, Raucous, and full of energy. I look forward to seeing how this band develops.
Next up were Salt the Snail.
I’d seen Salt the Snail before at Threshold, but nothing prepares you for their show. Shambolic, Random (flinging muffins into the crowd with a tennis racket) the lead singer spends more time in the audience than on the stage, it was pure chaos, not to mention, hugely entertaining! Here’s a video, but just go and see them, their shows are insane (in a good way, I think).
Finally, The Coathangers took to the stage, and it was well worth the wait!
The played an impressive set, with never a dull moment, that kept the audience enthralled throughout.
Their talent shines through, with them even swapping positions later in the set, each taking a turn of the drums.
They say time flies when you enjoy yourself, and it’s true, before I knew it, it was 10.30pm and time to head home, but it was a gig which will live long in the memory.
If you want a more in-depth description of the band’s live show’s check out Louder than War’s write up of their Manchester show last Monday.
The only slightly disappointing thing was that the turnout for such a special gig was relatively low. Don’t get me wrong, it was a decent sized crowd, but for a band of this quality I expected it to be packed and sold out.
We can’t really complain about bands skipping Liverpool if we don’t make an effort to support the promoters who do put their neck on the line to bring them here.
To be fair, between working up to 60 hrs a week and having a 5 year old, I don’t get to nearly as many gigs as I’d like, but maybe we just all need to take time to tell people about bands with upcoming gigs, play their songs to people and and help support these shows. Because if we don’t then one day we may find that we need to go to Manchester more often, or indeed miss out completely.
If The Coathangers can come all the way from Atlanta to play at the Arts Club, I’m sure we can travel across the city to see them!
All in all though, a great night, I recommend checking out these upcoming Liverpool shows here.
