Live Review: VUKOVI, ZAND | O2 Academy Islington | 14/10/2022
It was an entire week since VUKOVI exploded back onto the scene with their third high-concept corrosive rager LP - NULA; the ever building suspense attached to this latest excursion of inter-dimensional emotional/physical bondage has been building since the Scottish duo released their first single for this intriguing era with ‘SLO’ back in early November of 2020.
ZAND
On route to the gig confusion swirled as timings for doors seemed to differ everywhere you turned, if the O2 Academy staff and/or organisers wished to inspire a distinct need for a stiff drink upon entry then they definitely succeeded! Especially as we nervously contemplated standing in the cold for anywhere between a half hour to an hour. Upon finally catching our breath and nabbing some prime real estate at the front of the mezzanine level with the perfect view of any and all shenanigans to come, we settled in for a night of intoxicating chaos.
Kicking the night off with a distinct dominating swagger; the genre/boundary bending rising “ugly pop” star ZAND, arrived on stage dragging a gimp clad submissive by a leash before applying a layer of lipgloss and parading around their sinister looking barbed wire adorned baseball bat.
Although their section of the show seemed to be running a tiny bit late due to unknown causes, plus a lighting design blurring the lines between live performance and holographic like acid tripping; ZAND’s energy throughout their set always seemed to dither between an imperious badass and being almost meekly vulnerable. Such a duality in their stage persona didn’t seem to be all that emboldened by a sole dancer who, to give credit where it’s due, made their small section of the stage their bitch – unfortunately the same couldn’t entirely be said for ZAND.
Moments of sheer euphoria connected to their maniacal screaming fits, especially when performing their furious-death wish blaster ‘I Spit On Your Grave’ in which they ended the track by feigning a gunshot to the head, came and went as thankful adoration from the crowds spurred on a wave of raucousness from the pit below. One aspect that struck us was ZAND’s willingness to be intensely raw as they performed their latest traumatically fraught ballad ‘Battery Acid’. It stood as a lone moment of curiosity into the deep emotional baggage that seemed to fill any and every corner of the void-like interior of O2 Academy Islington. Although sonically ZAND was at the top of their game as well as created a safe space for non-binary and trans folk, the energy from the stage never seemed to match up to the great audible experience that pulsated from the speakers.
On top of all that, their set seemed to end really rather abruptly as they essentially repeated their starting schtick as they dictated the movements of their backup dancer and applied more lipgloss, before skipping their way off the stage. Even though their inclusively agitated messaging was clearly defined alongside their dare-we-say diva-ish persona and a voice that could stop, enchant and/or alarm the traffic outside, we found ourselves at a loss of the full “it factor” we came to deeply appreciate from observing ZAND’s musical endeavours from afar; in saying all this we would definitely be curious to try ZAND’s homicidally zany brand of ugly pop again, everyone deserves a second chance and for this upcoming titan we’re more than willing to take a stab at it.
Score: 6/10
VUKOVI
In the wash up period post-ZAND’s departure we found ourselves waiting patiently for chaos to resume, the air was heavy with anticipation ascending while patrons clambered their way to their optimal vantage points, making it feel like we were getting deeper and deeper into slow-burn crowd crush with every passing minute. Out of nowhere seemingly later than expected circling spotlights began to flick back and forth, as the familiar intro to VUKOVI’s spring of 2022’s thunderous perception killing anthem ‘LASSO’ was played on repeat for nearly an entire minute.
As frontwomen Janine Shilstone entered the stage in the midst of an overwhelming barrage of strobe lights, light teasing ensued the crowd into a pre-emptive frenzy before ‘LASSO’s first line “oops…” signalled the drop of all decorum. As soon as their introductory track came to its climactic close, bouquets of flowers were ferried across the pit up onto the stage to an extremely thankful Janine and Hamish, who regarded them as “delicious” before going straight into an animated rendition of ‘C.L.A.U.D.I.A’.
At one point during their set Janine referred to those in the pit as being “feral” for their frequently rowdy behaviour that lead to a steady string of crowd surfers making their way to the front of the stage where security struggled to keep up with the demand. The general atmosphere seemed to suggest a certain affinity to egg each other on to surf along the top of the pit, which left those of us on the balcony watching on thoroughly amused by the onslaught of bodies seeming to float across the room.
Major highlights from the onslaught of noise-pop bangers included the venomous strikes of ‘HURT’ which to be quite frank, left us galvanised in the pursuit of freedom from trauma. VUKOVI also endeavoured to arouse a journey through the senses as they expertly stimulated the darkest side of toxic laced psychosexual energy with ‘Violent Minds’ as a haze of red lights flooded the stage, leaving plenty of us unable to stop rolling our hips or reaching out in the direction of the cool vibrations’ origins.
What impressed us the most, were the performances of two stand alone tracks that have been major focal points of fascination for the fandom throughout this most recent European tour; the first of its kind consisted of the overwhelming emotional prowess protruding through the audience as Janine straddled the barrier closest to the stage and while being held up by members of the front row belted out ‘Colour Me In’, doing this while every light in the joint was turned off to make way for a sea of phones illuminating not only Janine, but guitarist Hamish Reilly and touring drummer Martin Sharples-Johnson.
It is possibly one of the most beautiful moments at a gig we’ve ever experienced, not only because of the incredible connectivity racing between all members of the audience, but also due to the spirit of the song resonating so strongly. At the soundtrack’s crescendo, feelings began to take over as the intensity never ceased to rise, that even Janine needed to take a moment to compose herself in order to bring such a wonderful experience to a perfect calming outro.
As we entered into the final stages of the band’s set Janine had various moments of great interaction with the crowd including an ongoing natter with a guy near the front of the crowd, before being interrupted by a projectile plushie panda that somehow landed in her arms; in obvious shock she didn’t dare to move and began to hold her expression as the crowd began to laugh, eventually causing her to crack. She ended up placing the panda on the drum riser, before it quickly fell on to the main stage leaving Justine with only “sorry” to say before continuing on with the set.
Sometime later the band was greeted to the entire pit chanting “VUKOVI” at the top of their might, only to be greeted by Janine’s infectious laugh and stating “Guys let me speak, for god sake!”; When the crowd began to settle she declared “Genuinely thank you so much, I feel like this new album… we’re not gonna go into a big fucking speech this ain’t the Oscar’s… thank you so much… this album was all about empowerment and hope and strength”, she continued “thank you so fucking much I hope this album is a safe space for you” before holding back her tears and laughing the entire band back into the madness with their final song of the evening ‘La Di Da’.
As one of their most well known and beloved songs from their 2016 self-titled era, performing ‘La Di Da’ felt like participation was the only acceptable option. As pandemonium ensued we were taken aback by just how flawless the entire band’s performance was considering they were coming to the end of an intense hour long stint on stage. As all patrons rallied together to give as good as they received from the Kilwinning titans, all voices blended together for a finale flourished in overzealous strobe lights that for a moment seemed to temporarily blind us, until the realisation came that it was all over.
In truth, no amount of words could ever encapsulate just how captivating VUKOVI’s prescience and messaging on this expedition into the world of NULA was. The recovery from being a willing participant in the craziness of this show has been an agonising one, due to the knowledge that we’ll probably not be able to see VUKOVI live for quite some time now. It takes a band with balls of steel, a heart of gold and talent of epic proportions to truly capture the essence of humanity’s complexities all into a hour slot. We are truly honoured to have bore witness to VUKOVI’s audaciously raw renaissance, bravura.
Score: 10/10