the lemon lizards

Deep City @ The Hunter Club, BSE

Indie-pop quartet Deep City headlined The Hunter Club for the very first time on Saturday evening, alongside some great support acts.

The night kicked off with the hilariously brilliant sounds of Theo Morris And Not The Theo Morrises. Morris, previously a member of fabled band Janet Street Slaughter, has suddenly decided to make clones of himself to make up his backing band, which is a brilliant idea considering half of his songs are ‘poo-related’! A really enjoyable set to kick off the night.

Next up was Sam Eagle and his backing band The Lemon Lizards with their jazz-influenced indie sounds. Though they closed on the crowd pleasing 15/8, the rest of the set was a mix of Eagle’s solo material from his EP’s like Bodies ,and a taste of new music which is set to be released very soon. And if that isn’t exciting enough, they are playing a live set on BBC 6 Music in the next few weeks! Sam Eagle is definitely a name to watch out for.

After nearly a year away from Bury St Edmunds, Huckleberry Harrison‘s return to the local scene was welcomed with his super-suave performance of songs from his debut album What The Huck? featuring tracks like #1 Anime Dad and Not That Kinda Girl. Other highlights from his assuring set included Sheets Are White, debut single Dracula and new song End It This Way, which is hopefully getting a release soon because it really is brilliant. This set is easily one of our highlights of 2018.

Before the headline act, soloist Kerry Devine entertained an appreciative crowd with tracks from her debut album Away From Mountains which was released only three weeks ago and a wonderful cover of a Portishead track. Her enchanting vocals were inch-perfect throughout, especially on the beautiful Fools That Fall. Devine did state that it’s “not a party album” and its definitely not like the tracks from side project The Baby Seals, but the songs are truly captivating and lovely to listen to. She finished her set on the upbeat swing of When I Get Low, I Get High. a track that she hadn’t performed for years!

After years gigging around the local scene, Cambridge’s Deep City finally headlined their first Washing Machine and it’s fair to say it’s been long-awaited. The quartet played tracks from debut EP 15:16 including the utterly sublime L.O.V.E and Time, and older tracks like Plastic and Wht Hppnd which still hit home and sound so fresh. Technical problems did hinder the band towards the end of the set, however they overcame the difficulties with ease with a quality cover of Everything Everything’s The Wheel (Is Turning Now) and set closers Slow and Close Up. A really polished set from a band that just get better and better with every performance.

The next Washing Machine is on Saturday 16th June featuring Tundra, Thy Last Drop, KYANOS and more! £5 entry, helping to raise money for Riverwalk School, 6pm kick off.

Dingus Khan @ The Hunter Club, BSE (17/03/2018)

The third Washing Machine of the year saw Dingus Khan make a sweaty return to the Hunter Club.

The Manningtree five-piece rocked from the start, ploughing through legendary hits like Plank and Ambulance, where the band’s infectious energy rubbed off on the packed out venue which was shaking to its very core.

New material was played in what was nearly a 90-minute set, the absolutely barnstormer of a hit My Number was the highlight of the new tracks, a track that is so ferociously delicious it’s already a fan favourite and the track My New Hat, members of the band passed out pieces of their merch throughout this one, no second guesses as to what the pieces of merch were…

The loving crowd got rowdier and rowdier, and as soon as the band launched into the revered track Knifey Spoony local legend Seymour Quigley was crowd-surfing around the venue, audience members were up on stage and the temperature in the room increased by about 1000 degrees.

But let’s not forget the band’s who opened the night of brilliant music.

Members of Queen’s Road Rock School (run by Linzi Stivey and White) made their Hunter Club debut with bands Substation and The Daze, which really shows that the BSE music scene has such a bright future. Substation’s track Intention is a great tune!

Radio Orwell were up next, another brilliant five-piece group who have a hint of The National about them. Their new track Stolen Sense Of Wonder is a wonderful slice of alternative goodness, not to forget the brilliance of I Disappear and Speaking About It. We can’t wait to hear more from them!

It’s the second time we’ve seen the smooth Sam Eagle and his band of Lemon Lizards, and it’s clear they are going places. Having gained extensive radio play for the chilled 15/8, Eagle showed why he is so highly-rated among the local scene with an awesome set. And also, Moon Jelly is such a really really really tasty track. Go listen to all of his music now.

Finishing off the undercard were the terrific trio of Blue Mean Eyes. The band have gone through extensive changes the past year, however, the trio were on fine form tonight showing off new tracks but also playing some old favourites as well. They finished on the track Escapade which is just phenomenal! New music is bound to be on its way and we can’t wait to hear it.