Live Review: Saint Agnes, Haggard Cat and Venus Grrrls | The Garage, London | 28/10/21
Hitting the ground running for their string of October headline tour dates in support of their latest Mini LP, inspired out of exploring the full depths and breadths of the bewildering isolation mindset during the initial 2020 national lockdowns; Saint Agnes triumphantly returns to the rat race with their homecoming penultimate night of full scale intoxicating debauchery, at the iconic North London haunt for the indie and rocker obsessive’s – The Garage.
Venus Grrls
Kicking off the festivities in a haze of midnight blue shadows cast across the entire vicinity, the alt rock quintet Venus Grrls set an ominous yet welcoming tone to the inception of the night; which over the course of their set to an initially criminally small congregation, unearthed some tremendous power awaiting to be unleashed, as frontperson Grace Kelly’s angelic vocals maintained the incredible ability to almost cut through the very core of one’s soul. Although the bands name makes it very apparent of their affinity to the underground feminist Riot Grrrl movement of the early 1990’s, musically the band seemed to effortlessly walk the line between the Cocteau Twins ethereal wave fantasias and rage fuelled blastings of early 2000’s Pop Punk bops. With the groundwork laid for an undeniably hypnotic sense of togetherness, the band spoke candidly about the importance of mental health, imploring listeners to “share what feels like a burden” in order to feel less alone in the world, before leaving crowds entranced with ‘Amy’, an ode to a voice of reason who is mentioned in its lyrics to have “saved” Kelly from an inferred disastrous end.
Opening the show is no easy feat and yet the Venus Grrrls left the crowds wanting more of their celestial sonic gut punches, which served as the perfect segue way into the ever ascending abrasive chaos that was yet to come.
Score: 7/10
Haggard Cat
Known to possess the musical equivalent of an unrelenting natural disaster; the Nottingham punks Haggard Cat are no strangers to delivering the insanity on cue, blessing any awaiting patrons with their audacious live performances, that border on an enjoyable slant of a complete sensory overload.
As much as our high expectations are met with hellraising duo, they also expect the best out of their audience which was exemplified via their expert toying throughout the show including front man Matt Reynolds stating to the crowds that he “thought you’d all fallen asleep”, before a glorious uproar rose from the pit to meet his infectious simper.
Besides the intensive crash course in the aggressively abrasive, we were treated to the first ever performance of the band’s latest single ‘Fucking TV’, which loaned itself as an empowered and somewhat cantankerous means of retribution for supposed rejection. Being played live was a moment of pure unadulterated mayhem where you felt every maniacal scream momentarily greet you, before knocking your senses for six. The continuous escalation of much yearned states of havoc perfectly transitioned over to the final song of their set ‘Quit Your Job’, which not only left the crowd picking their jaws off the floor at the sheer audacity of their crazed scuzzy strikes at the outros peak of complete an utter hysteria, but also triggered the first mosh pit of the night that exquisitely echoed and provoked the audible intensity to ascend beyond the realms of understanding by this universes standards. To say that they were mind blowing would be an understatement.
Score: 8/10
Saint Agnes
Following the stellar performances from support acts Venus Grrrls and Haggard Cat came the moment we had all been waiting for, just over an hour long set dedicated to a tension breaking, territorial pissing, and provocative upswing exploration produced by one of the most exciting contemporary horror punk bands in the alternative scene today. The Vampire Tour ’21 has been a long time coming for the East London blaster casters Saint Agnes, who bar a string of fiercely powerful performances at Download Fest Pilot, Burn It Down Fest and supporting Skindred on a number of UK tour dates, have been positively gagging to get on the road to induct awaiting fans into their much yearned sphere of potent pandemonium.
Kicking off their set with the unmistakable filthy riffs of their March 2020 single ‘Daughter of Lucifer’ protruding through the Garage like a tidal wave, made it instantly clear they were not here to play by the rules; to kick off their set with such a ballsy chant emulating an ‘all for one and one for all’ mentality, established such a warm fellowship between both the fans and band which was a continuous theme throughout the entire show.
Major stand outs from the set included their final song of the night ‘Brother’ and their somewhat subdued rendition of the slow burn Carrie-esque anthem ‘The Meanest Little Kid In Town’. Seeming to encapsulate the audible parallel to simmering rage up until a thunderous, antagonistic and guttural display ensued once the tracks bridge was well under way. The explosion into deafening savagery of what felt like a guitar translating the ins and outs of a brutal murder scene, had heads in the crowd bouncing like the band were playing a round of telekinetic basketball as all those closer to the bars eyes were literally transfixed to the stage.
Whereas their concluding banger ‘Brother’, became a commanding presence in need of full cooperation from the crowds; arguably the most connective track of the entire night, as insistence for audience participation became the number one priority of front woman Kitty A. Austen, who directed audience members to crouch down and bob along with the tracks punchy hook “I never had a friend like you, brother, I never had an enemy like you”, until a total eruption of all sense hit the pit with a resounding exuberance pulsating out of every possible corner of the room. With the tracks outro extended to keep the mosh pits alive and well for a substantial amount of time, before Kitty gracefully threw herself into the air to be caught in a crowd surf looked more like floating on clouds three quarters of the rooms length before being returned her back to the stage for a remarkable ending and exultant farewell.
Their undeniable ability to enrapture a crowd into the truest sense of togetherness is something that can’t be taught as a musician. The love shown to each and every person in that room, to each other and to the focal point of the entire evening is a testament to just how criminally underestimated and under-appreciated this band are. That show was the epitome of outsiders finally feeling like they’re in the grips of something cool, subversive and deeply capturing of their souls and quite frankly we immediately wanted to turn back time to experience it all again.
Score: 10/10