Gilla Band, Pure Adult @ Brooklyn Made

by Leah Bouchier-Hayes | Feb 27, 2023

Gilla Band at Brooklyn Made (photo by Leah Bouchier-Hayes)

Tuesday February 21st saw Irish band Gilla Band (formerly known as Girl Band) take to the stage at Brooklyn Made for their long awaited sold out show.

Frontman Dara Kiely, with his setlist scrawled on the back of his left hand (no he wasn’t constantly checking the time), leads us through their blistering 16 song set over the cacophony of sounds created by Daniel Fox on bass guitar, with his hair down over his face and who on occasion uses an empty glass bottle of Jarritos (Fruit Punch flavor, if you’re wondering) as a slide; Alan Duggan, on guitar with his huge array of pedals and trusty Olympic White Fender Strat; and Adam Faulkner bringing in the heartbeat of the band on drums with a smile that appears to see and appreciate everything going on in the crowd as they mosh about in front.

Kicking things off with “Lawman” from the 2015 EP The Early Years, the set was a mix of old and new songs and Gilla Band certainly had the crowd going from start to finish. Closing proceedings out with crowd favorite “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?”— a cover of the techno track by Blawan. The crowd really threw themselves into this one to end things on a high note.

Gilla Band at Brooklyn Made

One of the stand songs from the show for me comes from the latest album Eight Fivers. With its rhythmic, hypnotic lyrics (“Shit clothes, shit clothes, shit clothes….”) and drum beats intertwined with the gnarled guitar of Duggan, it just really stood out even though it is a relatively short track for the band who are known for having songs that regularly exceed the six minute mark.

This was the band’s first show back in New York since they played at another Bushwick neighborhood venue, Elsewhere, back in October 2019. Back then they were here in support of their second album The Talkies. This time round they were here on their North American Tour supporting the release of their ferocious third album Most Normal which they released on Rough Trade Records back in October 2022. Here’s hoping they’ll make a swift return so we can all experience their unique sound live again soon.

Opening entertainment on the night was provided by experimental rock band, Pure Adult, and they really did put on an impressive opening set. Most of the band were bounding here and there and everywhere with uncontainable, infectious energy from every single member of the band. The ring leaders of this ball of energy of a band, Jeremy Snyder and Bianca Abarca often jumping up to walk the extra raised lip of the stage edge to get close to the audience, along with guitarist Nelson Antonio Espinal. During the closing song of their nine song set, as all the energy reached crescendo, Nelson handed his guitar out to an audience member to take over. Said audience member later stated “I’ve no idea how to play guitar.” The whole show was a wild time I wouldn’t mind repeating. Pure Adult are not to be missed. Check out their new album II that they released on Fat Cat Records on January 27th. Be sure to catch them live.

Scroll down for setlist, fan shot vids, pics of the show (photos by Leah Bouchier-Hayes)

Setlist: Lawman, De Bom Bom, Pears for Lunch, The Last Riddler, Heckle The Frames, Fucking Butter, Post Ryan, The Weirds, Bin Liner Fashion, Laggard, Almost Soon, Going Norway, Backwash, Eight Fivers, Shoulderblades, Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?

PURE ADULT

GILLA BAND

Dry Cleaning, Spirit of the Beehive, Nourished By Time @ Pioneer Works

by Leah Bouchier-Hayes | Feb 7, 2023

Dry Cleaning at Pioneer Works (photo by Leah Bouchier-Hayes)

On Thursday February 2nd 2023, Dry Cleaning wrapped up their North American tour with a sensational sold out show at Red Hook’s Pioneer Works. The London four piece have been on the road in support of their incredible second album Stumpwork.

Dry Cleaning are a one of a kind band. With front woman Florence Shaw’s captivating vocals/spoken word over fellow bandmates Tom Dowse, Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton rich tapestry of punk, hardcore, alternative rock inspired sounds. Dowse’s guitar expertly weaves around Shaw’s rhythmic vocals, filling in the gaps with beautiful swells. Maynard’s funky bass licks and fancy hair flicks will keep you entertained for hours. Buxton’s drums beating at the heart of their sound tying everything together.

As one would expect, the 17 song set list was a balanced mix of older and newer tracks. To round out the sound for these shows (particularly for the newer songs) the band brought along a couple extra musicians. One to add extra guitar and vocals and then crowd favorite, Bruce, on saxophone duties. Every time Bruce made an appearance, the crowd gave an enthusiastic call of “Brruuuuuuce” which as Florence jokingly pointed out— it’s unfortunate to have a name that sounds a lot like a “Boo” when people in a crowd are calling for you.

Dry Cleaning at Pioneer Works

On the night, Dry Cleaning were joined by SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE and Nourished by Time. Nourished by Time, who kicked the whole night off, really started things on the right foot and brought a great energy into the space. SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE were sounding great despite having to stop due to some technical issues. This lead to them jumping to the end of their set a little early, but they still delivered a fantastic performance and certainly ended it with high energy and seemed to laugh it off and enjoy themselves. The show must go on. And so it did.

Dry Cleaning seem to go from strength to strength and are growing more and more confident with every show. I hope it won’t be too long until we see them back in New York.

Scroll down for setlist, fan shot videos, pics of the show (photos by Leah Bouchier-Hayes)

Setlist: Kwenchy Kups, Gary Ashby, Scratchcard Lanyard, Viking Hair, Her Hippo, Hot Penny Day, Leafy, Stumpwork, No Decent Shoes for Rain, Don’t Press Me, Conservative Hell, Driver’s Story, Strong Feelings, Unsmart Lady, Magic of Meghan, Liberty Log, Anna Calls from the Arctic