Music / Reviews
Review: She Makes War / The Empty Page / Fey Militia, The Crofters Rights
Saturday night drew a decent sized crowd to The Crofters Rights in the thick of Stokes Croft for a great night of female angst and truthful lyrics.
Most of the crowd had put a lot of effort into the night, donning glitter and punky clothes – fitting for the style of the evening.
Photo by Phil Riley
First act and host for the evening was Dis Charge, arguably Bristol’s best and boldest drag act. Mixing humour and emotive singing, her set had the whole crowd singing, dancing and left them feeling great and wanting more from the night.
is needed now More than ever
Next up were Fey Militia, a Bristol based group who met five years ago and formed over a joint love of music whilst studying at Warwick Uni. Their close bond was clearly demonstrated in each and every song with their extremely tight timing and a great stage presence for what really is quite a young group. Frontwoman Molly Davies belted her heart out to songs from their debut album ‘Mabel’ which was released in April of this year. ‘Golden’ was my particular favourite: a song about a scorned ex-girlfriend taking the low road and burning clothes in the street, it’s hilarious but a song I’m sure everyone could relate to on some dark level. Their debut single ‘Honey’, released in November of last year, was also a hit with a catchy chorus and ‘Football’, with a more headbanging vibe was great fun. Well worth going to see if you spot them on a lineup (which I’m sure you will).
The second act, The Empty Page, starting their career off in the north of England, were also a fantastic support act. The lead singer had a real Kim Gordon feel about her, and for just a three-piece band they had huge projection and energy. With a more punk vibe than the previous act, they really did have the crowd going from start to finish, playing songs from ‘When The Cloud Explodes’ which is a great EP from their first year together, just three short years ago (you’d never know).
Photo by Phil Riley
The eagerly awaited She Makes War were a crowd-pleaser as usual. Their first ever single ‘Slow Puncture’ had the entire room singing (me included) and took me back to a time where they were perhaps at their best, not that their new songs are anything to turn your nose up at. Laura Kidd looked and sounded incredible as usual with the rest of the band smiling right the way through the show.
‘Devastate me’, about social media presence and over-sharing online, was played right towards the end. In my opinion it’s the best song from their latest album ‘Brace for Impact’ and has a real Hole vibe.
All in all, a great show from all involved, but for me it was the support acts that really shone.
Main photo by Phil Riley
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