Words by Sally Churchward. Pictures: Ritta Boll.
Emily Eavis might want to get out more. OK she might have been a bit tied up on Saturday night, but otherwise she would have done well to head to Southampton’s The Joiners to see not one but four fantastic emerging bands.
The Glastonbury co-organiser recently defended the festival line up, saying ‘there aren’t a lot of new rock acts to choose from.
Pop into your local grassroots music venue on pretty much any night of the week, and you’d probably disagree.
On Saturday we were there for indie-rockers Holler. There was a definite buzz about the band, who have previously supported the likes of Coach Party, coming to Southampton on their headline tour, with pre-sale tickets rapidly selling out.
But more of them later.
The four-piece had brought along three stellar support acts and whether it was through word of mouth or sheer love of live music, the crowd knew it was worth making the effort to be there from doors opening, to catch all of them.
First up was happy guitar rock from trio Weekends and Workdays, who shared their delight at playing to such a large audience. It was impossible not to smile and dance along with the lads, who at times had both The Streets and 90s indie vibes.
Actually the whole night had a slightly 90s vibe, in an entirely good way.
Second up was Public Order. The effortlessly cool lead singer’s voice had Brian Moloko tones. They had great stage presence and one of their songs – sadly, they didn’t give the names and the band’s online presence is limited so I haven’t been able to fill in the gaps – held the audience in the palm of their hands and gasps along the lines of of ‘that was so good’ could be heard rippling through the crowd once it ended. I regretted not being familiar with them beforehand because it was absolutely music you wanted to sing along to, probably while giving the air above your head a one-armed pump.
Then it was the turn of Eloise Carter and her band. She had instant rock idol vibes, strutting, hopping and leaping round the stage with her guitar.
While the support had all been excellent, when Holler took to the stage, there was a definite gear switch. The audience was buzzing as was the band.
Lead singer Lucas Leitch started with soft vocals before ripping into opener 111 and energy tore through the crowd.
At times, the band reminded me of both Teenage Fanclub and The Stone Roses – a weird mash up but one that definitely worked. But maybe comparisons are unfair – they are much more than that.
Their energy bounced off the crowd and there was a real sense of being at one of those Joiners gigs that becomes legendary in years to come.
Second up was (relatively) new single Doubt but for me, the big songs of the night were Talk to You, See Straight Through and Tell Me – catchy upbeat rock songs, the perfect soundtrack to the summer. You can find these on various music platforms – definitely check them out.
Lucas seemed a bit amazed and delighted at the near capacity crowd and the buzz, with the audience clapping and cheering whenever he spoke, including sharing the background on songs. There were obviously plenty of diehard fans there, with Holler t-shirts peppering the audience and the people pressed against the stage who knew every word.
The night ended with the band creating a wall of sound which carried on as they laid down their audience and disappeared into the crowd, who swallowed them up with embraces and shouts of congratulations. The audience hung on hopefully for an encore, but we’d had all we were getting for the night – and Holler definitely left The Joiners audience with a taste for more.
Holler look set for big things.But don’t wait til they’re on The Pyramid Stage to see them – look out for them on local tours and catch them on the Friday at Victorious this August.
- Check out Holler on Facebook and catch the final date of their tour in Brighton on July 12th
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