Review: Rita Lynch, Thunderbolt

Rita Lynch has been an essential part of the Bristol scene for…ever; she’s highly regarded by her peers, has a devoted following and an enviable back catalogue as well as being a terrific performer on stage. She launched a new anthology covering her career so far at a rammed Thunderbolt recently (Story to Tell (Anthology 1988 – 2011) – brought to us by those splendid people at Bristol Archive Recordings).

The night was opened by Idiot Strength, a four piece outfit who informed us they were going to play some punk rock, which to a certain extent they did. Rather than generic “This is a chord, this is another, this is a third. Now form a band” thrash though there was way more of a post punk vibe about their set. Although there was a hint of Pete Shelley about the vocals, the tunes themselves were much more ’79 than ’77 – tribal drums a la Budgie, hectic rhythm with non-metal solos and forceful melodic bass that brought to mind the best of Hooky and JJ Burnel. Plagued by feedback the band still delivered an entertaining set (even if a little understated in terms of stage craft) – earning themselves an encore.

Paul Bradley improvised his way through a thirty odd minute set that is virtually impossible to describe. He played guitar and set loops running and then improvised with spoken word and singing, all the while supported by brother Mark on Cajon, watching his sibling like a hawk as he provided a bedrock groove for the extemporisation stage left. Paul managed to touch on existentialism (“…everyone matriculates from life…”), tales of London Italian restaurant chains (delivered in a hit n miss cockernee accent) and even apoidean musicality (by using a phone app he managed to establish that a swarm of bees passing though his garden were actually humming at a Natural B, hopefully true). All this was underpinned by loops, howls, scatting, singing, chatting and questions to himself and the audience. It was compelling, amusing, exciting, jazzy, simultaneously modern and vintage (blues guitar as “…stolen by Jimmy Page…”) brave, unrepeatable and remains impossible to describe. Punk was all about challenging preconceptions, pushing boundaries and making music that mattered – this performance was punk as fuck.

Joined by John Langley, drums; Mike Youe, bass and Neil Smith, guitar; Rita Lynch played getting on for twenty tunes to a rapturously rowdy response. Prior to the show she’d admit to feeling nervous – longer set than usual, four piece line-up, and playing older songs for the first time in years – but it was obvious from opening number All Dressed Up that she had nothing to fear. A sprawling, heavy dynamic piece that set the tone for the rest of the set. Langley was fierce all night, battering the kit, locked in with Youe and filling the beat with rolls and an attack that was exhausting just to watch. Youe is a forceful bass man, and needed to assert himself given the quality of the guitar playing on stage. He handled his corner with aplomb, melodic and yet aggressive too. He was a physical presence on stage, and offstage too as he forced his way in to the crowd on a couple of occasions. The rhythm system totally locked down the groove for Lynch: a rock solid foundation, physical and precise, such was their effort that an emergency call for cider was made mid-set to rehydrate. Neil Smith was on fire throughout the set, peeling off incendiary solos at will – finely judged and never distracting from the song or showboating; innovative and a million miles away from the generic shred by numbers solos requiring twelve fingers. All three musicians were clearly enjoying themselves, grinning like it was going out of fashion and performing with total enthusiasm for the material.

Lynch herself led with aggressive rhythm guitar and a finely paced set, delightfully sequenced with crescendos, pace changes and moods to make for a vibrant and thrilling hour or more. It would be difficult to single out any one tune but Beautiful Eyes was a highlight and Call Me Your Girlfriend was tremendous. Lynch was a compelling presence on stage, barely moving from the mic but living out every song and singing with honesty and passion. Lynch has spoken about how the Anthology is like a CV, and reviewing the tunes for the compilation and gig took her back to her emotional state when they were first written. That was readily apparent from the conviction of her performance. She believed every word she was singing and we believed every word too. She has a powerful voice but doesn’t feel the need to belt out the tunes and the vocals are all the more effective for being understated. There was very little banter between songs apart from her dedication of Beautiful Eyes to a punter stage front and replying to some comments about the vocals being low in the mix; however, her mile wide smile at the end of every tune said it all. Main set over Lynch was obliged to play three encores before being allowed to leave the stage having delivered a masterclass in modern rock.

Oh, and if you want more Lynch then check out her recent interviews here and here, and fingers crossed there will be new music and further dates soon.

All pix by John Morgan