Woahnows opened up proceedings at a very busy Bodega, providing the crowd with their brand of indie-punk. Their songs are catchy, and they’re musically very tight. Always a load of fun to see live, and they certainly seemed to go down with the audience.
Up second were Apologies, I Have None, who don’t make it up to the Midlands too often. Kicking off with their almost-classic-status “Sat in Vicky Park”, they immediately received a warm welcome. The straight-forward punk songs from London mixed in with the more emo vibes from their EP Black Everything works surprisingly well in a live setting. Their new songs sound great too.
The Smith Street Band made it to the stage in perhaps unfamiliar fashion, with vocalist Wil Wagner taking a seat at the front. After suffering a pretty terrible injury, he still managed to power through and play a surprisingly energetic set.
Tracks from Throw Me in the River were welcomed by huge singalongs from the attentive audience, particularly “Surrender” and “Surrey Drive”, where the riffs in both tracks sounded incredible in a live setting.
Older songs like “Ducks Fly Together” and “I Can’t Feel My Face” received similar reactions, as Wil screamed into the mic. Honestly, the amount of energy was incredible for a show that could’ve quite easily not happened.
The Smith Street Bands have certainly gone from strength to strength over the past few years, now to the point where every single word is being screamed back to them. They’re a great band, and closers “I Love Life” and “Young Drunk” really show off their knack for writing stellar tracks.
